An Echo through Time
by Twilight PhoenixFyre
Summary: Desperation leads to some rather crazy acts-including going back in time! Gnome is free, Myre is meddling, and unfortunately for Kairi, she's back earlier than she'd planned. Well, perhaps that's actually fortunate. No one knows meddling better than the woman who's saved three God-Generals-and an assassin-from death. Rated 'T' for language, violence, and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1-1 Part 1

_Guess what?_

 _I'm back already! Yup, here's the first Part of An Echo through Time! (If this is the first you're seeing of this story, go back to Re:A Ripple in the Abyss or be totally baffled.) But before I give you the chapter, I have some notes to make._

 _First off, I'm hoping to get back to weekly updates... these will now happen on Fridays rather than Wednesdays. (With the exception of these first three Parts, since 2 will go up on Monday and 3 will go up next Friday.)_

 _Second, enjoy the picture of Myre while it lasts. It's a placeholder cover until I get the Re:AST cover done and can start on the AEtT cover._

 _Third, the Tales of Symphonia spin-off, A Dying Light, will be posted after I finish revising the first Chapter. It will update on Sundays, though probably won't be uploaded for a couple weeks yet._

 _That all said..._ _ **All Tales of the Abyss characters, themes, and concepts are the property of Namco Bandai. However, all Original Characters, artes, themes, and concepts belong to me or (on occasion) to a friend of mine whom I have already received permission to borrow from. Please ask before borrowing. (Permission will generally be granted with request for credit given where credit is due.)**_ _This is the only time I'm going to put this disclaimer up, because it makes little sense to repeat it every single chapter._

 _ **As with the previous two stories, if you would like to see part of a chapter from another character's POV or if you would like to ask for a drawing if you're having trouble picturing something, feel free to ask.**_ _I can't promise they'll get done snappish, but they'll get done at some point. Probably before I finish the story completely. (At this rate, probably before I finish the Re:AST cover.)_

 _Now that that's all done... Enjoy!_

* * *

" _I was wondering why you'd side with Undine and Gnome." –Shadow_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.1 – The Return  
Part 1**

 **Myre's POV**

The Soil Tree was dead. Long, long dead now. Had I been looking at it ten years ago, I would have thrown a fit. My grandfather had looked after it, just like my father would have done eventually, a task that would have been passed to my husband, and to either our son, or our daughter's husband.

But my family was dead. Even the man I'd hoped would become my husband.

Five years ago, he would have stood with me, looked at the tree, and wondered if maybe a new one could be planted once this war was over.

Five years ago, he'd led a group to find supplies in the Inista Marsh. The behemoth had attacked. Four of the group of twelve had escaped, two with heavy injuries. One of those had eventually died from his injuries.

The man I loved hadn't been among those to make it out. He'd died in the muck.

"Myre."

Which was where my name had come from. My new name. The girl I'd been before that was dead, had died the day Luke fon Fabre had walked up and told me my lover was never coming back.

I turned to look at the man walking up behind me. If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought it was the redhead who'd told me my dreams were shattered.

Luke was dead, too. He died saving Amethyst Curtiss. Thys lost his father to that particular attack as well. Almost lost his mother.

 _Did_ lose his mother, a year later. The nine-year-old, a fonic genius like his father and a master of the Sigmund style like his mother, was already becoming one of our best front-line fighters. Seth, his only remaining family, had done his best to shelter the boy originally... The problem was, most of the group who'd saved Auldrant from Yulia's Score was now dead.

The redhead who stood beside me now wasn't Asch, either.

Asch had never made it past eighteen. He'd died before Thys was born, before they even found out Cantabile was pregnant. His body rested in the muddy, oily lake that surrounded the remains of Baticul.

"You're thinking rather hard."

I didn't reply for a while, eyes raking over the crumbling city before me. It was _dangerous_ to be walking around in the open like this. Dangerous to be on the ground. Gnome ruled the ground. Sylph, who was neither ally nor enemy, did not begrudge us Eldrant, our flying haven. Rem did her best to heckle us, but she was the weakest of the sentiences, and her opposite and the eldest of her brothers, Shadow, was on our side.

As was the youngest of the seven.

"How much longer do we have, Lorelei?"

Indeed, the redhead beside me was Lorelei, whom we had given a replica body so that he may assist us. Shadow, too, walked about in a replica body, though it was born of an odd mixture of an adult Jade's replica data and Dark's, who was a replica to begin with.

The result had black hair, red eyes, and a bad habit of sneaking up on people.

I'd found it funny as a child.

It was a useful tool to my adult mind.

"I'm not sure. I do know that we'll need to leave for the Absorption Gate soon, though."

I sighed. That was about as much information as I ever got out of him anymore. He didn't like giving precise times, or even looking for them. Then again, given what had happened with Yulia and her Score, I didn't blame him.

A quiet rustling drew my attention, and I raised my mace.

The monsters jumped out from behind the ruined buildings, and I snarled as I ran forward, mace slamming into heads with a deadly accuracy I'd trained into myself over the years. There was no room for mistakes, not anymore, not when one slip-up could spell death for you and the rest of your unit.

There was no such thing as a civilian anymore. Nor a noncombatant, really. There were front-liners, scouts, artillery, medics, and children. The children contributed when they could with what they were capable of using, or looked after the infants too young to help.

The children never left Eldrant. And none of them remembered the world as it was under Yulia's Score. None of them remembered what Auldrant was like before this war started.

A war we humans were slowly losing, despite everything.

A third human jumped into the fight, rapier glinting as he helped us kill the monsters. With his help, it didn't take us long to defeat the last ones.

I turned to look at the newcomer and frowned. He was going on forty-five... and what was he doing all the way out here?

"Aslan? You're a few continents away from where I'm sure you're supposed to be."

He turned, sheathing his sword as he did so. "Kyrie and Jozette went with the unit I was originally assigned to... Her Highness made the exception this once."

I sighed. Her Highness... Not Natalia, oh no. She'd died holding off a horde of monsters with Dark. Dark hadn't survived that either. Nor did that title apply to Nephry, who had, for about a year, been married to Emperor Peony. She'd never recovered from the stress during childbirth, and had eventually succumbed to illness. He'd been left to raise their daughter on his own...

Aslan was speaking of Princess Anubia. Eight years old, but almost as intelligent as her cousin Amethyst. She held the highest position in Eldrant, with her father having died from being poisoned by a monster a few months back.

"Why?" I asked. Anubia was stubborn, and usually refused to break up the units she sent out.

"Because I promised your father I'd watch after you... And I've done a terrible job of it so far."

Lorelei looked concerned. "You do understand that I can only send one person back? You'll be stranded at the Absorption Gate, because I won't be able to re-form for a few weeks at the very least."

Aslan nodded. "I know. Shadow agreed to come get me once you'd left."

I crossed my arms. "Assuming our jump doesn't immediately erase this timeline."

Lorelei shook his head slowly. "No. This timeline will exist until you find some way to make certain this war ends. And I will warn you now, Myre... I know you, and understand your reasons. The me you are bound to meet in that time will have _seen_ you, but will not _know_ you. He will not aid you as I might."

I scowled. "None of them are going to want to help me."

Lorelei nodded. "Perhaps. But you never know... Kairi always showed a very interesting understanding of the world around her."

"A world that wasn't her own."

"No. The world she _chose_."

"She _never came back_ ," I pointed out. Aslan sighed. I didn't exactly blame him. This was a very common argument between us.

"Rem never gave her a chance."

Ah, yes. Rem's barrier. This was, supposedly, the reason why she was so weak. But I'd never had any proof of it. Only a desperate Asch, who had been trying to dreamwalk to her—or something like that, at least—had been able to feel it.

That I knew of. Perhaps the others had also tried. Either way, the result was the same: a world at war with the creatures that kept it alive, and no Kairi.

"And how do you suggest I get Kairi here before Rem erects her invisible barrier?"

Lorelei looked amused, this time. "The same way she was drawn to Auldrant in the first place. Ryndor knows what her mindscape feels like. He should be able to find her again... especially so soon, given when you'll be landing."

I nodded, and Aslan sighed. "What?"

"Nothing. Just... try not to mentally scar yourself, okay?"

It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. Then I tilted my head to the side, faintly amused. "That would be difficult. I remember being rather difficult to mentally scar."

Aslan scowled. "And yet..."

"I'm not scarred," I said, knowing that expression far too well. "Just... as frozen as I used to dress. I've lost too many people to be anything else."

"It's time to go," Lorelei said. I nodded, and Aslan stepped forward so that the three of us stood in a triangle. I closed my eyes and focused. Lorelei needed to conserve his energy, so I'd be the one to take us to our destination.

My memory of the Absorption Gate was somewhat fuzzy, but one location was perfectly clear, kept so by stubborn will and regular visits.

I rarely actually got to see what this looked like. I knew Lorelei's ability—and Luke's, before his death—always surrounded him in a golden-orange glow before spreading to encompass everyone he'd be taking with him.

Mine supposedly looked like one of Kairi's Energy circles. Luke had claimed it looked _exactly_ like the one that had teleported her and Asch to Aramis Spring, but I never put much stock in that. Luke hadn't actually seen it himself, and it had been almost two years before I'd discovered this ability. There was no possible way to be certain... Except to ask Kairi when Ryndor dragged her back to Auldrant.

She'd wanted to stay for her birthday, supposedly.

Too bad. The fate of my world was more important than her birthday.

The familiar drain of energy came as the glyph activated, teleporting me, Lorelei, and Aslan to the Absorption Gate.

Del and Apathy were waiting for us. Or, to be a bit more correct, two puppets. They'd ceased to be Del and Apathy a _long_ time ago.

I frowned. "You're not going to try to stop us are you?" I asked.

Del stood up, and I felt a rather acute sense of déjà vu as he drew his claymore. Unnaturally pupil-less blue eyes almost seemed to bore into me, the evidence of Undine enslaving him. I looked over at Apathy, and saw similar red eyes.

Odd. Undine and Ifrit only worked together when they were desperate.

I glanced at Lorelei, and waved him back. Aslan was strong enough to survive this long, and Shadow was supposed to be coming. No reason for him to waste energy.

Not when we so desperately needed him to send me back.

Apathy ran straight toward me, and my battle-oriented mind ran over what it knew in the seconds before he was within striking range of my mace.

Martial artist. Preference for first and fifth fonons. Specializing in power attacks. Habit of slipping behind an enemy.

Undine and Ifrit had placed them here to stop us, but those two were spread far too thin to be able to really control them. Apathy's attack patterns would be the same as they'd always been. So would Del's, which meant he was all Aslan's to deal with for now.

I fell into a pattern easily. Swing, swing, Devastation, jump back, swing, and so on for a while. I waited patiently until I felt something snap into place.

Finally. I had the strength for a Mystic Arte. Now then...

I spent the next few minutes gathering up fonons and focusing them into a very specific point in my body, right below where my Energy Core would be. I waited for a while as I monitored the levels of fonons I'd drawn in.

I jumped back, spun on my heel, and let loose a shockwave—not of fonons, but what we'd come to call Æther. It wasn't fonons, or Energies... Really, Æther was to fonons what fonons were to Energies. It was something we'd learned to synthesize... the final step required releasing the fonons we'd captured in a short burst. The Æther would then swirl around us for a few minutes before dispersing back into the fonons that had made it up.

We'd had no choice but to evolve. Æther was our answer to the way the sentiences used fonons against us. I just hoped having this knowledge sooner would make stopping them easier.

"Countless heralds of ice, seek the end of your journey!" I chanted, the Æther I'd synthesized answering my silent commands with the same ease. "Comet Fall!"

At the last second, fire surrounded Apathy and Del both.

My Mystic Arte struck Del. Weakened as he was by Aslan's attacks and the swapping trick Ifrit had pulled, his replica body finally succumbed to its damages. Not even Undine could hold him together any longer, and I saw her control waver as Del fell to his knees.

Déjà vu threatened to overtake me again, but I brushed it aside.

Del looked up at me, then slumped to the ground, fonons splitting apart easily. I glanced over at Apathy.

Odd. He wasn't moving...

I turned to face him completely, and was greeted by a rather startling sight.

Apathy's right eye was still the unnatural, pupil-less red.

The left eye was blue.

"Path?" Aslan whispered. I didn't really believe what I was seeing, either.

"Yeah. Long time, no mess around, huh...?" He paused. "Was what I heard true? Have you really changed your name?"

Right. Apathy had been one of the first casualties. And given his previous fixation on names... Yes. Yes, I could believe this was the replica of Avarice Miles speaking to me.

"Yes. I go by Myre."

Apathy looked saddened. "Your birth name was so pretty..."

"Ifrit had a reason for giving you this much control, I'm sure," I said. He sighed and nodded, and I'd have sworn his right eye almost glowed for a moment.

"Ya know why Gnome and Undine are so upset, righ'?"

I nodded. Though, why Ifrit always spoke in such an odd manner, I didn't dare question.

"Ah neva cared. The humans saw the damage Gnome could do an' did what they thought was necessary ta keep it from happenin' again. Ah know ah'm dangerous, ah ain't gonna deny it." Ifrit paused, frowning and glancing to where Del _had_ been. "Ah love causin' a little chaos here 'n' there. But this... Gnome, Undine... They've gone too far."

He looked up at me. "Ah'll take bein' sealed again, if that's what it takes. But ah don' wanna see the world keep spinnin' ta its doom like this."

"Because fire is chaos... and life." Ifrit, Lorelei, Aslan, and I all turned as Shadow walked over. He crossed his arms and gave his brother a look so reminiscent of Dark's 'you're an idiot' look that I _almost_ cracked a smile. "I was wondering why you'd side with Undine and Gnome. Rem was obvious—she never liked humans anyway. You... You used to _love_ humans."

Ifrit looked away. "Still do."

Shadow snorted and looked over at me. "Get going. Undine is _beyond_ pissed right now."

I rolled my eyes. What else was new, with her?

Lorelei led the way down to where the Planet Storm seal had been once.

"It's time..." he murmured.

I nodded and stepped to the edge.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Ifrit was hanging around in my head when I got into my Transformers fix. Ifrit decided he liked Jazz. Ifrit now has decided to mimic Jazz's chosen speech patterns. Curse you annoying characters! Especially you, Ifrit! You were supposed to have a Spanish accent! Not a Brooklyn accent! –dies- At least Gnome cooperated..._


	2. Chapter 1-2 Part 2

_Okay, a day behind schedule, but oh well._

 _Go look at my DeviantART page for the full-sized picture of Myre and the Tataroo Valley scene with Asch and Kairi! Both have been uploaded in the last week!_

 _Had to give this chapter to Shandon to look over because the mini-Shandon in my head basically wrote all of this herself. (Also, lots of hints to the spin-off, for those of you looking for that... That said, I'm hoping to have A Dying Light up around the same time I post my St. Patrick's Day art project.) So she added some stuff and it's a bit longer than average._

 _...Um... Nope, out of things to say. Next update will be on Friday, and then we'll pan back out to once a week._

 _Enjoy! (This'll be the first and only really humorous part of Chapter 1, and there'll be some lighthearted parts around the festivities in Grand Chokmah before everything goes to hell in a handbasket. Just saying.)_

* * *

" _You know, this conversation was actually_ easier _to follow when you were speaking in liger." –Mom_

"' _Cause Rabecah told me about a certain colonel who, and I quote, 'floats majestically through the air' in a factory." –Shandon_

" _You are about as decisive as the bobblehead gnome in the kitchen." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.2 – The Return  
Part 2**

"Kairi?"

...

"Kairi..."

...

"Kairi!"

I growled something I desperately hoped was impolite in the liger language.

"Are you cursing at me in liger again?"

Something more like a grunt than a growl was my answer.

"Noted. So, have your memories worked themselves out yet, or nah?"

A groan-growl.

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

Grunt. Growl, growl.

"Okay, my liger's not _that_ good. On that note, are you planning to speak liger all day?"

A pause as I considered the question. An irritated hum-grunt.

"Thank God. I mean, I don't mind the practice, but this probably sounds like a _very_ strange conversation to your mom."

"It does," Mom piped up as she walked past the door. Probably to get a cup of coffee.

"Ooh, are you getting coffee?!" Shandon asked, apparently seeing what I'd heard.

"You don't need any," Mom nixed immediately.

"Aww..."

Hmm...

I yawned and sat up, going from mostly-asleep to wide-awake almost faster than Shandon could blink.

Almost.

I hum-growled.

"Well, I've got a PlayStation 3 and an Xbox 360, so if you want to play a Tales game other than Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Legendia, we could go hole ourselves up at my house," Shandon offered.

I hummed. Then... "Nah. I'm kinda in the mood for Legendia. Besides, if I want to play Symphonia, I've still got Sarah's GameCube version. I don't need the PS3 for that one."

"Unless you want to run around with Sheena dressed up as Judith."

"Nah. I'd rather have Kratos in his Judgment getup."

Mom poked her head in. "You know, this conversation was actually _easier_ to follow when you were speaking in liger."

I snorted, then busted up laughing along with Shandon. Mom walked off, and Shandon leaned back on her hands and looked over at me. "So, what are we gonna do?"

I shrugged and scooted over to my laptop, opening it up and watching it boot up. "You are going to pick a Tales game. I am going to take care of Tea's poor abandoned Sylesties."

"You have her account password?"

I snorted. "Please. Tea and I know _all_ of each other's passwords. Tends to happen when you use the same four passwords for everything and rotate through them," I said. "Mind you, Tea can't type any of mine because, as I'm sure you've noticed..." I paused and exaggerated typing in my computer password, which was about twenty characters long, "I have really long passwords. Most of which contain at least a name, a made-up word, a real word, and a number. Not necessarily in that order."

"Right. And Tea can't type real well."

I gave Shandon the stink eye. "Tea does this." I proceeded to poke in her password for her Sylestia account using just my two pointer fingers.

Shandon just laughed a bit more and then was silent. "So, what's Danté up to?"

"If my doppelganger is to be believed? Still chatting it up with Noishe."

There was silence for a moment.

"Kairi Balfour's front and center again?"

"Our conversation in liger didn't answer that question?"

"Stupid question, moving on to the next one. How fresh are the batteries in your camera?"

I paused and glanced over my shoulder at her. "Should be good for a while. The SD card'll run out of space before the camera batteries die."

"Excellent! We're playing Tales of the Abyss then. 'Cause Rabecah told me about a certain colonel who, and I quote, 'floats majestically through the air' in a factory."

I'm not sure if it was the memory of actually sitting here with Rabecah, _watching_ that happen, or just my own memories of Jade and my overactive imagination trying to figure out how that would work out... yeah, nope.

I busted up laughing, and was still at it five minutes later (okay, at this point I was hyperventilating, but that was normal) when Mom poked her head in again.

"Do I _dare_ ask?"

I shook my head, while Shandon shrugged. "I'm not sure _I_ want to know," she admitted. "I just mentioned something about Jade floating."

Mom gave me a look as I finally caught my breath, still grinning like an idiot. I snorted. "It's a bit of a glitch. Instead of his character 'jumping' back when the pipe falls, he just sorta floats up and backwards to safe ground. Rabecah saw it and now it's just one of those _things_... Right up there with the Abyssman costumes."

She rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Don't forget to make the mac'n'cheese."

I grinned. "Might end up making it and leaving it in the fridge for you."

"And make some cookies while you're at it."

"Will do. See ya tonight."

The dogs started barking as Mom walked through the kitchen, and I turned and went back to dealing with Tea's Sylesties. She'd be so surprised when she came back to find almost all of her Mission pets at level 60. (That was what I was aiming for, at least.)

Not to mention the sheer amount of gold she'd have.

Was this why she'd asked me to babysit them for a couple months?

"So, what did you mean earlier about your memories?" Shandon asked as she unburied my controllers for the game systems, since _all_ of them were buried. I frowned and accepted all of the mission satchels.

"I think my doppelganger saw something. She's hiding it from me now... Anyway, everything up to about a month ago I've got fully lined up, and my Auldrant memories are in perfect order again, so now it's just a matter of getting the rest of the memories Doppel's hiding," I admitted. Something crashed, and Shandon immediately started yelling 'I didn't do it!'

I snorted and stood, leaving my room. "Nope. Marley got in the trash again."

"Oh... Okay."

Getting Marley out of the trash and then getting the trash picked up again didn't take very long, thankfully, and I was able to get back to my room rather quickly... just in time to see which Tales game we were _really_ playing.

"You are about as decisive as the bobblehead gnome in the kitchen," I noted.

Tales of Symphonia.

Not Legendia, like I'd originally said. Not Abyss, like Shandon had said when she brought up Floating Jade.

No. _Symphonia._

"Yep. We're gonna play from a new game and you're going to point out everything you think Danté's going to screw up."

I couldn't help it. I facepalmed.

"Sound a little _more_ cheery, why don't you?" I muttered.

"Okay!"

"No! No! Do not take my sarcasm at face value!"

Shandon just laughed, and I couldn't help the grin on my face either. I finished up with the Sylesties quickly and flopped out across my bed, taking the Player 1 controller and starting the new game from one of my finished games.

So I could make Kratos run around in his Judgment outfit, of course.

And, while Kratos was jabbering on about the Giant Kharlan Tree and the Goddess Martel, I gave Shandon a _look_. "You do realize Lloyd is currently five, right? So it's gonna be at least twelve years before we ever find out what _really_ happens."

Shandon shrugged. "That just means he's got more time to screw things up. I mean, look what happened with you! You'd already screwed everything up in just... what, nine months? ...Earth months."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, so... Oh, nailed him again!"

"Wait, what?"

I snickered. "Raine just threw a chalkboard eraser at Lloyd," I said. Just in time for Raine's 'How _do_ you sleep standing?'

"Oh, quite easily," Shandon replied cheerfully. Yeah, that's Shandon for ya. "So... you think Danté might stick close to Iselia?"

I shrugged. "It's _Danté_. Not Dark. I don't know him quite as well, so I can't say."

Shandon scooted back, grabbed my laptop, and scooted forward. "Let's say he _does_ stick around Iselia... when he's not off killing people for money, that is."

I frowned and thought about it as I dealt with the opening scenes. "He wouldn't come back all that often. He doesn't have a liger to ride around anymore, there are Desians _everywhere_ , and I can't imagine _finding_ work is all that easy. He'd also have to do a lot of traveling just to get to the people he's going to kill and back to the clients."

"So, using Iselia as a home base?"

"Most likely. Noishe would be an added bonus," I agreed. "Ugh, finally!"

Raine ran out of the classroom, and Lloyd's buckets disappeared, leaving me free to run around.

"So Danté's still an assassin, working alone, and using Iselia as a base of operations," Shandon summarized as she typed.

"Please tell me you're not doing that in a Word document."

"OneNote. Listed with your Ripples stuff under the name Dying Embers," she said.

"Change it to A Dying Light and we'll be okay," I said. "Speaking of dying, shall we wait for the priest to come die in the schoolhouse or should we head for the temple _now_?"

"What?! No, go to the temple! Don't traumatize the poor children!"

I snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

Well, I finally got them out of the schoolhouse. Now, on to the conversation with Frank and then the ever-so-annoying battle tutorial...

"So, where do you think Danté would get pulled into the story? Or, where's the most likely place?" she asked as I dealt with the zombies. I thought about it as I performed the rather mindless task of mashing the A button.

"Kratos is gonna jump in here at the temple..."

"Before or after the priest dies?"

"After. Actually, if his timing were any worse, Lloyd would be dead in the first ten minutes of gameplay... Ten minutes only because of the annoyingly useless scenes and tutorials," I replied.

"That's game logic for ya."

I cringed. "Sorry, Shandon, game logic doesn't always work that way."

She gave me an odd look, then seemed to realize just _what_ I was talking about. She hummed for a moment. "So, where would Danté jump in?"

"...I can see it going one of two ways. He'd either be hired by the mayor to protect Colette before the game events even start and therefore would join the party properly during the 'Rescuing Lloyd from the 'Desians'' mess, or... Well, I can't imagine Yuan being happy about him running around, so he'd probably be sitting in a cell when Lloyd got captured for aforementioned mess."

"So, not for a while yet."

"No."

"What if he trained Lloyd?"

I let my head fall. "Shandon. Danté is an assassin. Danté uses guns. Danté _really doesn't like dealing with people._ "

"...Point zero zero zero one percent?"

I shook my head. "Hey, there's the dead... well, dying priest."

A moment later...

"Wait, where'd the dead priest go?"

I shrugged. "Game logic. Auldrant rationalizes it as fonons separating. I guess... here it would be mana dispersing?"

"But he just vanished!"

I rolled my eyes. "What, did you want to do an autopsy or something?"

"...Maybe."

I groaned. This was going to be a long few hours of gameplay...

We finally decided on a 'background' for Danté and decided on how he'd join the party (hired by the mayor), and from there, it was actually fairly amusing. Shandon had _no_ clue what Danté was like, so most of her 'suggestions' were _way_ off (though I could see Dark doing most of them, so that didn't surprise me much) while I spent most of my time coming up with whatever I though Danté might _say_ in response to certain lines in the game.

Though, Shandon and I agreed on one major thing.

Danté and Kratos would _not_ get along. At all.

We finally quit for a while to go do the cookies Mom had asked for. Well, quit playing Tales of Symphonia and writing things down at least.

"You do realize it'll be twelve years before we'll be able to confirm or deny any of this, right?" I asked for what had to be the hundredth time. Shandon just grinned.

"You'll remember about it. And then you'll call me and remind me. And I'll probably be as excited to find out as I am making the bets now."

I rolled my eyes. "We should get Sarah and Rabecah in on this. They're the ones that got me into Tales of Symphonia in the first place."

Shandon nodded and walked over with the eggs and butter, while I found a country station on the radio and started blasting it.

It didn't take long for me and Shandon to get to dancing around—carefully, because we _really_ didn't want the buffet to fall over, not with all the glass in and on it—and singing along. Sugar cookies were easy to make, and I hadn't been able to relax and have fun like this for quite some time.

The doorbell rang as we put the last batch in the oven, and I headed out to see who had come by.

Rabecah.

Who had picked up another spirit Energy and a Talent to go with it. I smirked.

"Speak of the devil and she shall walk the four blocks from Sarah's house to mine just to see what Tales of Symphonia has to do with anything."

She smirked. "Yep." She stepped inside. "So?"

I rolled my eyes and closed the door before walking back to the dining room and turning the radio off. Because _someone_ doesn't like country. "You know how I was on Auldrant? Well... I may have thrown a new wild card into Tales of Symphonia." I paused and turned to look at Shandon. "You know, it's also very possible Danté could never get involved at all or could die before the game events start." I pretended not to notice Shandon 'sneaking' back over to the stereo system as I turned back to Rabecah.

Shandon's voice sounded rather suspicious, though. "I really get the feeling he's gonna get involved. If for no other reason than to beat Kratos upside the head."

Rabecah raised an eyebrow, though whether it had to do with Shandon or her statement, I wasn't totally certain. "Danté is an assassin, isn't he?" I nodded. "He better not _kill_ Kratos."

I smirked. "Kratos or Mithos."

She looked _so_ torn.

"Wait, who's Mithos?" Ah, Shandon has been successfully diverted temporarily. Now, to slip over here and turn the volume _back_ down...

"He's my baby..." Rabecah said somewhat creepily. I gave her a look.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again. Your 'baby's an asshole."

"I know!"

Shandon laughed... And then turned on the stereo. Which, while it did start blaring country music again, wasn't blasting our eardrums out as she'd intended. Rabecah glared at it while I smirked at Shandon, who was giving the stereo the most betrayed look. I poked the button to turn it off again. "Shandon, you are the only one of my friends who's actually read the later chapters of A Spatial Tear. You really think you can slip past me after the hell I put the Intelligence Division through?"

She just shrugged and went in to get my iPod. While it was also primarily country, I had a playlist filled with everything that _wasn't_ country... or Disney, for that matter. Rabecah would be more pleased with the song selection.

That little divergence dealt with, we finally finished with the cookies and started on the mac'n'cheese. A full batch instead of the half-batches I usually make. It was nice, having my Earth friends around again.

While we were waiting on the mac'n'cheese to bake, Shandon and Rabecah went back to betting on Danté, while I decided to work on my Harry Potter fanfic for a bit, since I'd finally gotten everyone to Diagon Alley and back again.

They were on the train now, with Rhyme chatting up the Weasley twins...

You know.

I find a deep sort of irony in the fact that I'm never writing Tales of the Abyss fanfiction when I get dumped into Tales of the Abyss.

And, just like the first time, it took me all of about two seconds to start cursing.

"Son of a half-chirpee, slag-eating, heartless _witch_!"

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Kairi's cursing there at the end brought to you by four rather distinct fandoms- How to Train Your Dragon, Tales of the Abyss (or any Tales game, really), Transformers, and Kingdom Hearts. Yup. Count on Kairi to curse across four fandoms upon landing on Auldrant. Though, this time she's got a bit more reason to be cursing than when she landed in the snowdrift..._


	3. Chapter 1-3 Part 3

_Whoo! Almost made it, but my laptop died! Hehe... (Then apparently forgot to actually add it to the story... -is shot-)  
_

 _I'm currently working on the ATLA costume pic. The little ficlet thing that goes with it will be posted when I finish it. As I'm currently stuck on the dreaded lineart, you'll have to excuse me if I take my own sweet time. Though, I am a little under halfway done with that now, so I suppose I can safely say it's coming along..._

 _Okay, I'm digressing..._

 _Also, that Kairi is talking to an inanimate object in one of her quotes really ought to make you wonder about her sanity..._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _I did have to move about three hours in when I discovered that my 'high-tide safe spot' wasn't so high-tide safe... –Kairi_

" _Okay. Water and ice it is. But I'm foisting you off to someone else as soon as I can get Silver Clematis back, got that?" –Kairi_

" _Rabecah... If your Talent works across separate worlds, let it be known that I blame you for this." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.3 – The Return  
Part 3**

Once I stopped cursing, I forced myself to my pained, _bare_ feet and stumbled out of the disaster zone I'd landed in.

I laid down carefully and slipped onto the second plane, using Energies to carefully remove all of the glass-like shards that had embedded themselves in my feet and back.

Last time, I'd landed in a snowdrift.

This time I'd landed in a bunch of... I'll say quartz for now. It didn't feel like quartz as I fought to make the Energies and fonons separate and disperse harmlessly, but then, it didn't feel like _anything_ I was used to.

Once my feet and back were clear of the shards and healing (or healed, in the case of my feet), I dropped back into my body, _stabilized_ myself, and promptly passed out.

When I woke up again, I quickly became _acutely_ aware of the lack of noise around me.

No music. No people breathing. No tree branches rustling. No animal sounds.

Nothing.

I pushed myself up slowly and glanced around, finally registering the destruction around me. From the low light, I'd guess it was about five-thirty. Sparse grasses and short trees and shrubs met my eyes. So did the mountains on one side, and the ocean on the other, just far enough away that I couldn't hear the waves. I was next to a cliff face, on a rocky beach.

My only indication that this was Auldrant? The fonons.

I walked into the mess of shattered crystal and lifted one of the medium shards of it, raising it to the faint light.

Blue.

I glanced down at myself. Gray tank top. Black spandex skort.

I bit my lip and continued looking around. I was unarmed, wearing clothes that were only barely appropriate for fighting, no shoes, and not quite sure where the hell I was.

Not good.

I dropped the piece of crystal, then started picking my way through the mess. There was so much of the crystal all over the place... Some of the already-questionable trees were dying, large shards sticking out of their trunks in multiple places. Two had been knocked over completely by Beta-liger-sized chunks.

The piece I'd grabbed to double-check color had been about golf-ball size.

There was one piece still in the crater that seemed to be the epicenter, though. That one was about as big as Twilight, Sorylle, and another five Alphas put together... or at least, I guessed it was. It was half-buried, so it may well have been larger.

I stepped on a long shard and immediately stepped back. Checking to make sure I hadn't cut myself, I lifted the shard.

It was about sword-length. And this stuff appeared to be more than strong enough...

Just to be sure, I spun around and threw the long, thin piece at one of the larger chunks that had knocked down a tree.

It bounced off harmlessly, neither piece even _scuffed_ by their meeting.

I breathed a soft sigh of relief. Well, there was my weapon problem solved, though it would probably take most of the day to force that shard to look more like a blade than a piece of blue glass, but there didn't seem to be many monsters here. Most had probably been scared off by whatever caused this very _solid_ crystal to break apart...

As I picked up what would become my sword for a little while again, I couldn't help but look around some more. All of this crystal...

 _Firelight through the trees. Moving shadows, too big to be just from the fire. Too tall and thin to be any of the monsters in the area._

 _I groaned as the person carrying me readjusted his grip, moving me into a very uncomfortable position as we went._

" _She's waking up," the man announced, almost boredly._

 _Familiar green hair stepped into my fuzzy line of sight. Sync?_

" _That won't matter for much longer."_

 _No. Zion._

 _We stepped out of the trees, and I glanced around the clearing._

 _Then I spotted it._

 _Levi's 'fonstone'._

 _Huge, and green, and transparent, and making the firelight reflect oddly._

 _Ryndor dropped me against the crystal, and I felt something_ pulling _me..._

I swallowed hard and glanced around again.

So much crystal... Could this have been another monolith? It couldn't be the one I'd been strung up against so much like a sacrifice. That one had been green, and had been in a forest, not on the edge of an ocean...

I picked my way out of the disaster zone, heading for the water. It was nearly winter for upper-hemisphere Auldrant. And while it was cool here, it wasn't freezing yet. Honestly, it felt like it had on Earth, though it had been unseasonably warm there.

When I reached the water, I warily dipped a foot in... and immediately pulled it out and ran back up the pebble beach a ways. Cold. Very cold. Which meant I was either in Northern Rugnica, Northwestern Padamiya, or Central-Southern Aberria.

Except I knew better than to think this was Northern Rugnica. We'd been there before, when the ice bridges came from Sylvanna and the ligers made the crossing. I'd spoken to Twilight about it, anyway. That entire corner of Rugnica was covered in sand beaches, not pebble beaches.

Southern Aberria could say the same, with a few exceptions around the south-western (Belkend) area where the cliff faces dropped straight into the ocean.

So, I'd have to assume this was Northwestern Padamiya.

Which, if I was right about the blue crystal being a shattered monolith, made a sort of sense.

Gnome was sealed in the middle of a ring of mountains.

So Ifrit would be sealed near Mt. Zaleho. Right?

I glanced down at what I intended to make into a temporary sword. _'I hope you don't mind this, Phaïe.'_

Well, I supposed there was nothing for it. I found a spot on the beach where I didn't think I'd get wet at high tide and got to work, smoothing the crystal down until I had a flat sheet.

I did have to move about three hours in when I discovered that my 'high-tide safe spot' wasn't so high-tide safe, but otherwise, I did my best to ignore my grumbling stomach. I'd have to find something to eat eventually, and probably sooner rather than later, but this was Auldrant, and I didn't dare go anywhere without a weapon.

The final result of my labor was definitely identifiable as a katana.

Okay. A blue, glass-looking katana.

But it was a sword, and judging from the ease with which I'd cut through a few shrubs, it would more than suffice.

So, weapon in hand, I started walking down the beach, heading toward the mid-afternoon sun. Mt. Zaleho and the surrounding dormant volcanoes made going east a foolish move. Especially if I wanted to get anywhere in any amount of time.

It didn't take long for me to start seeing and hearing monsters again, and I was grateful for it. The silence had been getting to me.

Especially since I was still carrying proof of something I didn't really want to admit.

Gnome was free. Ifrit was free. How many others had Gnome gotten to already? Because I had no doubt that Gnome was responsible for Phaïe's monolith having been shattered as it had.

Six days had passed. My birthday was still four days off. Four days.

I kicked a pebble lightly, trying not to injure my toe in the process. I succeeded in not injuring myself, but the pebble didn't go very far, so I picked it up and threw it as hard as I could instead.

It still didn't go very far, but watching it bounce was satisfying, and brought me back to my dilemma.

Where would the other four monoliths be? Phaïe's and Syal's were both destroyed already... Undine and Myno would probably be somewhere in Sylvanna. Sylph and Alvess? ...Possibly the Meggiora Highlands? But then, where would Rem and Shadow be?

I thought back to the passage rings and the flows of fonons and Energies, and realized I was wrong. Havaam's monolith, and therefore Rem, would be in the Meggiora Highlands. Sylph and Alvess were likely in the desert somewhere.

As for Shadow... I'd never _seen_ any place with a high concentration of first fonons. But then, I hadn't been everywhere in Auldrant yet. So Shadow was a bit of a wild card, when it came to finding the monolith.

That said... Well, Doppel had seen what Luke had been shown and told. Shadow would be our ally. So I wasn't as concerned about him.

And Rem...

Wait.

The cities had been destroyed mostly by earth, fire, and water. And the monsters... Rem should have been able to do more than just strengthen monsters, right?

And why hadn't Sylph helped as much? The Soil Tree falling could have been partly her fault, as could the sandstorm that helped Undine bury Chesedonia in mud.

A squawk caught my attention, and I glanced up just in time to see the garuda-class monster diving at me. I jumped and rolled, and the monster screeched as it hovered for a moment. Then it flew at me, and I scowled, running forward and spinning into a Guardian Field.

My Guardian Field turned into a Guardian Frost for the first time since I'd started using it, and I raised an eyebrow at a bit of ice that had formed and not quite disappeared before pulling together fonons for a Raging Blast.

Frigid Blast killed the monster, and I hummed. Okay. So I guess all of my artes with water fields of fonons are going to automatically turn into the field of fonons mutation?

Another monster attacked me a few moments later, and I decided to use a Havoc Strike.

What came out looked more like Sorylle's Glacier Stream than Burning Havoc, but it was obviously a FoF mutation.

I glanced down at the sword I was carrying again and warily put it off to the side before charging at the much-weakened monster. Kick, kick, Raging Blast—hey, that actually came out right!—kick, kick, Havoc Strike...

Monster killed, I stopped and looked over at the innocent-looking blue katana again. I sighed and picked it up. "Okay. Water and ice it is. But I'm foisting you off to someone else as soon as I can get Silver Clematis back, got that?"

The sword didn't respond. I hadn't expected it to, really, I just wanted something to gripe at. I don't mind water. I love water. But I love fire more. I don't like ice as much.

Ooh... Ice...

Keeping the idea I'd just gotten in mind, I started walking again. Monsters attacked here and there, and I did my best to unleash every strike arte I had on them.

Demon Fang, which usually turned into Infernal Torrent, suddenly was unleashing a shard of homing ice that exploded either after about ten yards or on impact. That one was actually kinda fun to play with.

Havoc Strike unleashed a sort-of Glacier Stream when I landed instead of me being engulfed in fire as I made the move.

Raging Blast had always turned into Frigid Blast, but now Guardian Field was turning into Guardian Frost. My DelQues was still a ZelDelQues, as well, since it usually needed a water FoF anyway. Though, my teriques had gone from a brilliant red to a sort of purplish color...

Without a bow, I couldn't test any of my bow artes, though I was experimenting a bit with Final Cross—or rather, Final Glacier—since I'd asked Guy about it once and then never gotten around to trying to learn it before.

It wouldn't come out right, though, so after the fifth or sixth failure, I gave up and started practicing my fonic artes.

The only difference between my body when I'd left Auldrant and my body now was my clothing.

Or lack thereof, given that I was _still_ irritated about being barefoot... and my tanktop was falling apart now anyway from a garuda monster getting a little too close. My Earth clothes weren't designed to withstand Auldrant fighting.

I had the terrible feeling I was going to be wearing little more than rags by the time I found civilization again.

"So, the first time this happened, I almost froze to death. Now whatever pulled me here is trying to embarrass me to death? Or was the point for me to get killed by the monsters?" I muttered irritably. A group of chirpees attacked, and I let off an irritated Guardian Frost as they surrounded me.

The chirpees didn't last long. That was one of the nice things about Padamiya. Most of the monsters were pretty weak. I sighed. "Rabecah... If your Talent works across separate worlds, let it be known that I blame you for this. It was your fault I was so inspired the night I got dumped in Keterburg, and it's your fault this time for showing up at my door."

I had no clue whether or not she could actually hear me, and at that moment, I didn't especially care. I also didn't _really_ blame her. I was just going a bit crazy from having no one to talk to, so grumbling at Rabecah made for an acceptable solution.

By the time the sun set, I was getting very sick of chirpees—and very sick to my stomach. I knew how to hunt, Asch had taught me how to skin an animal, and there was plenty of driftwood, or other dead wood, that I could use to make a fire, but there was just one problem.

This strip of beach? Had no animals on it. Just monsters. And monster meat was tough, stringy, and a pain to get my hands on, anyway, when their fonons separated so quickly.

I laid down on my back and groaned softly. This was going to end badly, I just knew it.

"Chirp?"

My eyes shot open.

That wasn't a chirpee.

I spotted the bird easily. Not very large, but at this point, _anything_ in my stomach was _something_ in my stomach. And my lack of a bow wouldn't be a problem either, as I reached out to the earth Energies in the area, carefully manipulating them into a loose sphere around the bird. My lack of physical movement hadn't alarmed it, so it was still just sitting there on the branch.

I forced the Energies to condense quickly, and the bird chirped again, this time in alarm, before it fell off the branch, hitting the ground and remaining motionless.

Dead. So now all that was left was to clean it up and start a fire.

I smiled in relief as I picked up the small animal. This would hold me over until morning. Hopefully I'd find more tomorrow. Or, better yet, I'd find Daath Bay tomorrow. I could definitely use some shoes.

My fire burned blue that night as I fell asleep easily.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _You know how Kairi made that sword there? Yeah. Food for thought._

 _On another note, I hope you're all having fun watching Kairi play around with the icy FoF mutations._


	4. Chapter 1-4 Part 4

_Ladies and Gentlemen... See? I can post on time after all. XD_

 _Okay, on to more serious things... My current assignment ends on Tuesday, I have a new game addiction, and I'm trying to chase down my plot bunnies for Chapter 2. Here's hoping I get lucky with those bunnies._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"I've apparently been designated as someone's test subject for spontaneous particulate transportation." -Kairi_

 _"Apathy's usually a girl's name in our family... Ari would have found that hilarious. Especially since Avarice also tends to gravitate toward the girls." -Hue  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.4 - The Return  
Part 4**

I grinned and started running, the grass one hell of a lot gentler on my feet than the beach had been. My tanktop was in tatters, and my skort wasn't much better, but I could _see_ Daath Bay, and I could _feel_ all of the minds that indicated people.

A couple of bees came flying out of nowhere, and Phaïe's Song, the sword I'd made of crystal from her monolith, materialized in my hand easily. I'd been worried at first about doing that, but it had all worked out in the end, so I spun around and sliced clean through one of the bees. The other one fell to the Guardian Frost that followed it.

Phaïe's Song dissipated and I kept running, eager to rejoin civilization after two and a half days in the wild.

As I approached, something snagged on my field.

*...Major?*

I grinned. *Hi, Hue!*

There was a moment of silence. *Commander Asch said you wouldn't be back for a few days yet, at the least.*

*It wasn't exactly planned.*

Another moment of silence. *How much, not planned?*

I laughed as I spotted Hue walking along the road out of Daath Bay, headed in the opposite direction. *Turn around and see for yourself.*

Hue froze, but didn't turn until he could hear me coming up right behind him, breathing somewhat heavily from the exertion of running so hard for twenty minutes straight.

The moment he looked at me, he blinked, tilted his head to the side, and got that look on his face. That 'I'm really going to regret asking this' look that always preceded a question that I had fun answering.

"Why are you barefoot?"

"I've apparently been designated as someone's test subject for spontaneous particulate transportation."

It took Hue a moment to process that.

"You were teleported."

"Yup. And with absolutely no warning."

Hue stared at me for a few more minutes. Then he shook his head. "I give up. I give up." He turned and started walking. "So, you planning on jumping right back into things, or did you have plans to do something else?"

I shrugged and fell... mostly into step with him. I stayed over in the grass, rather than walking on the road. Hue seemed to realize why, and didn't appear to mind. "Well, I'm planning to be in Grand Chokmah next week, but aside from that... Yes, I'm back. Need to clear things up with the Third Division anyway, since you've been on leave... or did you get back to work already?"

"I've been back on duty for a couple weeks now. Can't say I'm not glad to see you again. How you managed it, I don't know," he said. I scooted a little closer to the road, risking the rocks to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

He sighed. "You did what you could." He paused, then stopped and looked at me. "Kairi... There've been rumors that some of the soldiers who died in that attack were replicated... Ari... Was he...?"

I flinched. "Yes."

Hue was silent for a moment. "And the replica... was he at the Tower of Rem when..."

"No. He arrived shortly afterward."

I wasn't sure if Hue looked relieved or angry.

"I gave him a new name. It didn't make sense for someone who wasn't Avarice to called that, so I called him Apathy... Path for short."

The anger slowly dissipated in favor of amusement. "Apathy's usually a girl's name in our family."

I couldn't help it. I snorted. "Whoops."

"Ari would have found that hilarious. Especially since Avarice also tends to gravitate toward the girls."

My snort turned into full laughter, and Hue ended up doing the same after a moment.

This was good. Laughing instead of crying at the memory of my friend, his brother. Yes, this was a good thing.

"Path's still at the Tower of Rem, then?" Hue asked once we'd recovered. I nodded.

"Yeah. We need to set up something for all the replicas Mohs made, too."

Hue nodded. "Kimlasca's already started doing something like that. So has the Merchants' Guild in Chesedonia." We started walking again, Hue over in the grass now. We walked in silence for a while.

"So... Any idea who has my wing pack?" I asked. Hue shrugged.

"Not a clue. What happened, anyway?"

I frowned as I thought it over, glancing at Hue every few moments.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he added. I sighed.

"What are they saying happened?"

"No one knows _anything_. Commander Asch and Colonel Jade said they weren't telling until they'd spoken with you. From what they _have_ said, you were taken captive for one reason or another and had disappeared to recover from the ordeal alone."

"Hm. Plenty of space for a cover-up. Perfect."

"I'm getting the feeling you didn't disappear to Aramis Spring wearing _that_."

I snorted. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you the truth. The full truth. You and Rialle both. In exchange? You two have to help me come up with the story we're going to tell everyone else."

Hue nodded. "Acceptable trade."

I smiled. "I thought so."

We kept walking in silence, though a few bees attacked here and there. Between Hue's fonic artes and my icy strike artes, they didn't last long, though Hue apparently was rather interested by my sword. That was something I told him I'd explain later, once we'd found Rialle. Because really, it wasn't something I wanted to try to explain twice. He accepted that logic and let it go.. for right then, at least. I knew it would definitely be brought up again later, because Hue knew my fighting style rather well.

Our arrival in Daath was quiet. We slipped through the backstreets, headed straight for the cathedral, with a plan already in mind. I was going to go to my quarters, take a quick shower, and change, while Hue went to find Rialle and any of the other people we'd left in charge before running off to stop Zion and the Council.

My shower ended up taking a bit longer than I'd planned though, if for no other reason than because the warm water felt so damn _good_.

Knocking on my door brought me out of my musing as I towel-dried my hair, and I huffed, glancing down at myself. "Unless you're up to getting an eyeful, stay outside a moment longer!" I called.

The deep rumble I'd quickly started associating with Largo told me who was outside. No one else had that deep a voice... Well, not that I was familiar with, at least. Barst came close, but Largo had him beat, just barely.

It didn't take me long to get the shorts and dress part of my uniform on, and then I called for him to enter. Largo and Aerith both stepped in, and Aerith immediately ran over to me.

"Is Luke—Do you know—"

"Luke's fine, Aerith," I said. "He's in better shape than I was, actually, though I really ought to knock him upside the head—" I cut off abruptly as I remembered something else Lorelei had mentioned that Luke hadn't spoken of to the others. "The agent of the miasma..."

"Huh?"

I sighed. "I'll let Luke explain that one, if he even remembers it by the time I end up in the same room as him again." I looked over Aerith's shoulder to Largo. "So, I see someone's found a new uniform."

Largo hummed. "And you still haven't finished putting yours on." I shrugged and found a pair of socks.

"So, anything major I should take care of while I'm here?" I asked.

Largo shook his head, but Aerith didn't look so sure. I gave her a look that read, quite plainly, as 'spill it'.

Aerith bit her lip. "I think Ria might be the better choice for telling you," she said.

Which meant it probably had something to do with the passage rings I'd asked her to keep an eye on. Son of bitch.

"I'm not sure I want to know, but I guess it's a good thing I sent Hue to get her," I said.

"Probably, but I thought Asch said—"

I grunted. "Asch was just relaying a message. I'm back early, and while I'd love to know _why,_ since it wasn't exactly an option, I'm a bit more concerned about the passage rings right now. What's happened?" I asked as Rialle, Hue, and Florian all stepped into the semi-circle Largo and Aerith were already a part of.

Rialle was suddenly standing almost at attention, back rigid. "With the return of the Hod sephiroth, or at least a replica of it, the Albertesque seal has once again snapped into place. Good news is, thanks to the way your seals were set up, we can remote override it. Bad news... Well, none of us have a clue what the codes are to get in," she reported. "That said, the passage rings are all far too active to be hibernating the way they should be. I'm not sure what's changed, or why, because we can't get _to_ the Albertesque Seal to open it up and look."

I sighed. "So I need to go take a look at it."

"Preferably with backup," Rialle said, glancing at Florian, who was biting his lip. "When I went down there the night before last, the monsters were getting _stronger_ , feeding off of the excess fonons coming from the passage ring. I took Florian down yesterday morning to put the Daathic Seal back in place in the hopes that it would limit the monsters to the area directly around the passage ring. I'm not sure it it's worked all that well, though, because we almost didn't make it back."

I scowled. "Great... And Ion and Sync are both still in Chesedonia, no doubt."

"Which means you'll have to take Florian with you when you go back down..." Hue muttered. I sighed and shook my head, then looked over at Largo and Aerith.

"Let's all six of us go. Florian can release the seal, and then Largo? I want you and Aerith to bring him back up here. I have no doubt Rialle was right about one thing. The passage ring is most certainly the source of the strengthened monsters, and I'll bet I know _why_ they're getting stronger, too," I said. Largo nodded, and I reached over and grabbed my coat, belt, and gloves, then paused.

I really shouldn't keep carrying Phaïe's Song, but... Well.

Mt. Zaleho. Volcano. _Fire_ -elemental monsters.

Yeah, I'd hold onto it for now. I wanted Silver Clematis back, but Phaïe's Song would do in the interim.

"Anybody need to collect anything? If so, do it now. I'll wait down at the fonic glyph to Mt. Zaleho," I said. Aerith raced out, and Largo followed at a more sedate pace. Rialle patted herself down, frowned, then took off running as well. Florian looked amused, while Hue snorted.

"Wow. Unpreparedness."

I rolled my eyes as I finished getting dressed and then wandered over to my desk, pulling out a spare pouch and filling it with gels, a couple Life Bottles, and some gald. "'Unprepared' is landing on a pebble beach northeast of here wearing a tanktop and a skort, with no weapons or medicine."

"Yeah, that takes the cake."

I sighed. "At least it wasn't Keterburg this time."

"Oh?"

"Like I said earlier, I'll explain later."

"Ooh..."

It seemed that Hue had _just_ now noticed that by sending Florian back with Largo and Aerith, I eliminated the bystanders. We'd definitely be multitasking by the time we actually got to the passage ring.

We made our way down to the library, with Florian carrying the staff you sometimes see Ion carrying around. When I gave it an odd look, he turned pink.

"I can't really fight, and I'll be kinda tired after I remove the seal, but Aerith taught me a few fonic artes, and Rialle taught me some healing artes, so I should be able to help, at least," he said. I smiled, and for a moment, had to stop and straighten things out in my mind.

The original Ion, who'd gone by Zion for the last two and a half years of his life, was dead. By Sync's hand, at that.

Florian, the third replica, was so much like game-Ion it actually kinda made me happy. Because I knew the seventh replica wasn't the innocent boy he'd been in the game. That Florian was keeping that innocence brought a smile to my face.

Sync, the fifth replica, was my little brother, my nephew, my best friend. An incurable prankster and a loyal soldier.

Ion... No, he'd chosen a new name for himself, hadn't he?

Solace was a guardian, a protector, no longer afraid to get his hands dirty in the defense of the people he loved... or a complete stranger, really.

That would take me a while. I was _still_ slipping up and calling him Ion... Not that these guys would have a clue who Solace was, anyway.

I snorted at that, and Hue and Florian gave me odd looks. I shook my head and opened the door, waving the other two in before me.

Rialle was waiting on us, dancing around with a frankly wicked-looking ribbon following her movements.

Oh, it was pretty. An emerald green ribbon that matched her green eyes perfectly, but it was the light-weight bronze-colored chain the ribbon was woven through that had me staring. The chain links were shaped to look like little flowers, 'thorns' poking off every link.

Rialle stopped dancing and twirled the chains around her arms, resulting in them coiling around her well-protected forearms. She grabbed the pretty, flowery-looking kunai on the end and slipped them into the sheaths inside the bracers the chains were wrapped around. It was rather neat, actually.

"Whoops... Hi. I didn't hit anybody, did I?"

I smiled and shook my head. "No, but those are pretty. Glad I got to see them before we actually got into a fight; they'd have distracted me something terrible otherwise."

Rialle giggled, and I heard the door open again. I glanced back and raised an eyebrow at Aerith, stepping in wearing the blue and gray uniform she'd worn as Mohs' Head of the Intelligence Division. Her staff was clutched in one hand, and she gave me an almost icy look.

"If the monsters have gotten worse, I don't want to go down there wearing my nice clothes." She paused and grimaced. "Besides... It's too hot down there for my dress, anyway."

I conceded that point as Largo entered, scythe slung over his shoulder casually. "Shall we, then?" he prompted, see that everyone was present. I nodded and turned, kicking the damn bookshelf because _someone_ had triggered the switch to hide the doorway again.

Rialle giggled at the act, but sobered up quickly as we stepped onto the fonic glyph.

"Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Rialle has decided to add herself to my primary protagonist lineup instead of being a cooperative secondary character. That said, this actually works out perfectly later on down the road. So I suppose it's not as bad as her apparently being somewhat omniscient._


	5. Chapter 1-5 Part 5

_To whomever sent the sea serpent with the basket of plot bunnies: That sea serpent was Exodus from my Demon Lord series. He is helping to prod Demon Lord: Rise of a New Order along quite happily now. To anyone not familiar with my writing patterns, I'll be blunt—this does not help me to write An Echo through Time._

 _Though, if someone could track down Ifrit for me, as he seems to have decided to elope with Sync, Selenia, and Myre..._

 _On another note, contract got extended! Yay! Now, to go actually do my birthday present for Tea..._

 _One last thing: I actually hit my document limit when I went to upload this! Whoops! Guess that says something about how much mass-updating I did in the last few months._

* * *

 _"I'ma gonna call it a hellhound. And I'ma gonna kill the hellhound before it gets to Florian." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.5 - The Return  
Part 5**

The moment we landed, I noted the heat.

"It's hotter than it was the last time I was here," I said. Rialle moaned.

"It's hotter than it was _yesterday_. Isn't it, Florian?"

The Ion replica nodded his reluctant agreement, and I sighed. "Had a feeling. Alright, let's go. It's not actually that far to the Daathic Seal, but I hate the damn bats that always attack along the way," I said, walking away from the fonstone and toward Mt. Zaleho proper. The others followed me, Florian in the middle with Aerith. Largo followed right behind me, those two behind him, and Rialle and Hue brought up the rear.

The moment I spotted the wolf, I knew something was very, _very_ wrong.

"Whoa, what's that?!" Aerith asked. I scowled.

"I'ma gonna call it a hellhound," I said, seeing the flames around its neck, paws, and tail. "And I'ma gonna kill the hellhound before it gets to Florian." Because it was, unfortunately, headed _straight_ for Florian. I jumped in the way and summoned Phaïe's Song, unleashing a Guardian Frost.

The hellhound screeched, then _roared_ at me. "Whoa, okay, pissed it off!" I yelled, jumping back and spinning in _another_ Guardian Frost. It kept coming at me, and I scowled as Aerith's Icicle Volt hit it. The monster turned its attention to her, and I ran over and unleashed a Glacial Havoc. Florian's Prism Gale didn't really seem to get its attention, so he stuck to that, Ray, and Heal.

That last one, I was immensely grateful for, since I was doing my best to keep the hellhound focused on me with my icy strike artes. Largo stuck to only using his second-fonon and element-neutral strike artes after a fifth-fonon arte just powered the hellhound back up.

A Glacial Havoc followed up immediately by a Guardian Frost—one of my favorite arte combos for my sword style—finally killed the damn thing, and I noted that all of the dispersing fonons were of the fire type. I scowled.

As if I'd needed more proof that Ifrit was free.

"I've never seen a monster like that before," Rialle said. "And I've seen a _lot_ of monsters... Kairi?"

I shook my head. "No, and did you feel those fonons? That thing was nothing _but_ fifth fonons. I've only ever found a few monsters that are purely one type or another... Usually the spiritual kind of monster. This is the first beast-type I've found like that," I said.

"Well, hellhounds it is until we can figure out where they came from," Aerith said. "But what if we run into more of them? I swear that thing was stronger than anything I've ever fought before."

I started walking, Phaïe's Song back on my arm. "I've never found a _monster_ that strong. The Sword Dancer might be strong enough to kill two or three of those. Four might take him down."

"Wait, you've found the Sword Dancer?" Aerith asked. I snorted and glanced back.

"Keep up, please. If there are hellhounds on the loose, we don't want to get separated," I called. Florian and Hue were kinda lagging. "As for the Sword Dancer... I've fought him five times. The first time was with Sync, Twilight, and Cantabile. I got Silver Clematis out of that one, and I want that sword back. While the ice artes are helpful here in the volcano—" I unleashed a Frigid Blast on a bat that swooped down to emphasize my point, "—I really prefer my fire artes."

"Okay. Now I'm curious about the other four fights," Largo said. I smiled.

"Your daughter helped the second time. It was me, Asch, Natalia, Twilight, and Sync. Dark and Sorylle watched from the edge, since Sorylle was too small to help at the time and Dark would have been redundant with my and Natalia's fighting styles. Sync got the Black Rose daggers out of that, and Anise got her Genius Wand," I continued. "The third fight... That one almost ended in disaster. It was me, Dark, Seth, Reighn, and the ligers. We pulled through, barely, and got Dark's White Lotus chakrams, Luke's Flamberge, and Natalia's Celestial Star."

I paused in my explanation as we had to fight off a few monsters. Between my ice artes, Aerith's Icicle Volt and Frigid Coffin, and Hue's Blessed Drops, it didn't last long.

"I'm noticing a pattern here," Hue said as we continued onward. "Let me guess—four weapons from the fourth fight and five from the fifth?"

I chuckled. "Yep. Fourth fight was... Oh, Meggiora Highlands. Me, Selenia, Dark, Tear, and the ligers again. Tear got her Blue Crystal Staff, Selenia got the Gray Larkspur axe, Ion got the Aska guns... Huh. Can't remember the fourth off the top of my head. Oh! The Vorpal Blade! Guy's Vorpal Blade! That was the fourth one from the Meggiora Highlands fight."

We stopped again as we finally reached the Daathic Seal.

"The fifth fight was me, Asch, Reighn, and Flick. And Twilight. Anyway, Asch got Ultimatus, Reighn got Gold Wisteria, Seth got Blood Lily, Jade got Gungnir, and Flick got Yutis out of it," I explained as Florian made relatively quick work of the seal. "I _want_ Silver Clematis back..."

"And what are you gonna do with that blue sword?" Aerith asked. "Because I'm gonna guess that's the reason why all your artes are suddenly turning into fourth-fonon mutations."

I flinched. Count on Reighn's little sister to notice that.

"You flinched. What are you not wanting to tell me?"

I looked over at Rialle, then back at Aerith. "I'll tell you when we come back. You, at least, _need_ to know."

Aerith kinda seemed to shrink in on herself. "Yeah. Okay." She looked over at Florian and Largo, and then turned and started walking. Those two moved to follow her quickly, and Rialle, Hue and I headed down into the sephiroth.

"So... what _are_ you gonna do with that blue sword once you've got Silver Clematis back?" Rialle asked curiously. I sighed.

"Give it to Cantabile? She seems to have a thing for first and fourth fonons."

Rialle giggled. "Wait a few more weeks and you can claim it's a birthday present."

I flinched. "Nah. Given how I made it and what I made it from... Just... No." I sighed. "Okay. Hue asked for my explanation of what happened earlier, and now I'm going to give it to the both of you."

Rialle sighed. "I hear a 'but'."

"But, you get to help me come up with the cover-up we're giving everyone else. Because what I'm about to tell you is _very_ classified," I said.

Hue frowned. " _How_ classified?"

I scowled. "'I will block your memory and that of anyone you tell if you spill', classified."

Rialle hummed. "Okay. So, where do you wanna start?"

"Keterburg. Almost a year and a half ago now," I said. "I landed in a snowdrift with no idea where the hell I was or why I was there. Not to mention the fact that I was wearing dress slacks and a t-shirt."

"Hm. Sounds like fun," Hue noted. "Incoming hellhound."

"Aw, Pit."

"Pit?" Rialle asked, already casting as I ran forward.

"Um... Add that to my list of things to explain when we're not trying to save the world, okay?" I replied, unleashing a Glacial Havoc. Rialle giggled and unleashed her Earthquake. I spun into the familiar motions of a Guardian Field in the FoFs left behind, and was mildly surprised to find that it wasn't Guardian Frost coming out.

"Dark reckoning! Guardian's Pain!"

The hellhound yelped and ran off a ways before stopping and turning to face us, more wary now. I frowned. "Rialle..."

"Already on it! O raging goddess of the earth, awaken! Earthquake!"

The hellhound snarled, even as I ran in and unleashed another Guardian's Pain.

The second one killed it, and I stared at the place it _had_ been even as I stood there recognizing that Guardian's Pain had done more damage than anything else had. I frowned, then looked back at Rialle and Hue, who both looked about as baffled as I did.

"Well. We found something that works," Hue said. "I guess that means Rialle's sticking to Earthquakes and I'm sticking with Ground Dashers."

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"So, back to Keterburg..." Rialle said cheerfully as always.

"Right. Anyway, I landed in a snowdrift in Keterburg... and almost immediately realized that I wasn't even on the same world I'd been on anymore," I said. I waited a moment.

"Hold on, you're trying to tell me you're from another world?" Hue asked. I looked over at him and nodded once. He sorta slumped and stared for a few more moments.

"Huh. That's kinda cool. So I'm guessing _that's_ why this is so top-secret?" Rialle asked. I shrugged, and she grinned. "Okay! Whelp, now that we've got the background info, what happened at Eldrant?"

"And how many others know?" Hue added.

I shrugged and started walking. "I told Asch, Sync, and Dark just a couple months after landing on Auldrant. I told Jade right before the peace conference. And I told Reighn right after we lowered the Outer Lands. I'm pretty sure Asch told the half of our group that went with him that didn't know previously... Luke found out from Zion, as did the majority of our major enemies, though how _Zion_ knew, I don't know... Anyway, it's been spreading... Honestly, the _really_ important part of it is the part I haven't told you yet."

"Oh. So you don't really care that people know you're from another world?" Rialle asked. I shook my head.

"Not really. Because, let's be honest. I know Dawn Age technology because my own world is so far ahead of Auldrant." I stopped and sighed, glancing around warily. "The part that worried me was... there's a story on my home world about a supposedly-make-believe planet called Auldrant. I had hoped it was just coincidence... But the minute I dug Sync out of the snow, I knew it wasn't."

Hue stopped. I knew it was Hue, because he was on my left. I stopped as well and turned to look at him. "That story... What's happened recently..."

I nodded. "Yes. I landed in Keterburg a few months before the events of the story started. However... there was never any mention of a lot of people. Dark, Kallig, Reighn, Aerith, any of the Council, Ari, you two..." I paused and frowned. "Um, while I'm thinking about it..." I turned to Rialle. "Have you heard from Bela recently?"

The brunette nodded happily. "Yep! Got a letter just this morning. She was mostly just complaining about the people she's stuck working with."

I sighed in relief. Good. And the blonde's replica had been at the Tower of Rem when Asch and Luke had gotten rid of the miasma.

"Why?"

I cringed. "Your sister's voice is beautiful, but honestly, it's really creepy in monotone." Rialle looked confused, and I sighed. "There was a replica of Bela at the Isle of Feres."

"What happened to her?" Rialle asked curiously. I glanced at Hue.

"She gave her life at the Tower of Rem to help cleanse the miasma," I replied. "Anyway, back on track... The story from my homeworld? Ends with the events at Eldrant. Lorelei is freed, everyone in the main party except for Ion lives, the end."

"What happened to Ion?"

"Remember when Mohs took Florian?" I asked. Rialle looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah. Anyway, a lot changed as time passed. But Eldrant still rose in the end, so we still had to go... Zion split us up and grabbed me. I don't actually remember much beyond that, aside from Ryndor tying me up to the Monolith of Syal. Good news is, up until the monolith exploded, I was existing in two places at once. My doppelganger, who from here out I shall refer to simply as 'Doppel', developed some sort of ability to see what was going on, so I know what's happened."

"Incoming!" Hue warned me. I scowled, turned and dealt with the bats easily. Rialle giggled.

"Walk and talk?" she suggested. I nodded, and we started moving again.

"Anyway, Luke freed Lorelei, while Asch took a team to try to get me back," I said. "There's just a few problems. That 'fonstone' Levi reported was the Monolith of Syal... one of the seals on the six fonon sentiences."

There was silence for a moment.

"Which spirit was freed when it broke?"

"Broke? Oh no, Hue. _Exploded_. _Shattered_. Tiny little pieces, Lieutenant, tiny. Anyway, it didn't explode until later. Give me a moment..." I said. "Asch and the others got to the clearing, and Zion tried to use the knowledge of my homeworld against them. Unfortunately for him, they already knew. Zion's dead now..." I paused and sighed. "They couldn't cut me loose without the monolith exploding. Then Danté showed up, offered to do it himself so I'd be _able_ to come back to Auldrant."

Rialle hummed. "So Dark's original is dead."

"Huh? Oh, no, actually he's on _another_ world right now, chatting it up with a liger-esque monster and somewhat corrupting a little kid."

"Um..."

"Yeah, that about sums it up. Anyway, I hadn't meant to come back until after my birthday, but for one reason or another, I got brought back here early," I continued. We finally reached the passage ring, and I stopped and sighed. "That's where my new sword comes in. I landed wearing a tank top and a skort. No shoes, no weapons... And I landed in a disaster zone. Gnome isn't the only sentience that's been freed."

Hue gasped. "Ifrit is—"

"Yes. That sword was made of a shard of Phaïe's monolith," I said, stepping forward and putting my hand on the terminal.

The metallic surface was hot, but it opened as it always did, and diagrams lit up above me. Now well-versed in the art of manipulating the passage rings, I was able to slip through my own security measures as well as those at Eldrant with ease.

I was completely right, it seemed. Ifrit's revival was increasing the number of fifth fonons present... actually...

I poked around with the Shurrey Hill readouts. Second fonons were in high abundance as well.

Very high.

Stronger-than-Planet-Storm high.

"You've got to be kidding me..." I muttered.

"What? What am I not seeing?" Hue asked. I sighed.

"I think... the entire reason the Planet Storm was needed during the Dawn Age is because the fonon sentiences were sealed away a thousand years earlier," I told him. "And if I'm right, that means all the resulting problems from _that_ can be linked back to the seals as well..." I started checking the other fonon levels.

Increasing numbers of sixth fonons as well. Which would be boosting Ifrit's power.

"Rem is freed," I added.

"Who do you think will be next?" Rialle asked. I sighed.

"With any luck? Shadow."

We'd _need_ our ally, sooner than later.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _There are multiple reasons why the Clans sealed the six sentiences away. What Lorelei showed Luke in the last chapter of Re:AST? That's reason 1. Reason 2 is the reason why AEtT has a crossover arc near the end with A Dying Light._


	6. Chapter 1-6 Part 6

_So, who's getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo? I am... Unfortunately, I'm also nursing a headache right now since one of the coworkers was testing something that made a very high-pitched sound for, like, the ENTIRE MORNING. -dies-_

 _Um... May or may not get The Brothers-and Sister!-Ion picture done by St. Patrick's Day as I'd planned. A little bit of poking around revealed that Ellie's dress would be a pain in the butt, Solace wanted a new outfit altogether, and Erin has apparently been hopping from Tales game to Tales game and stealing articles of clothing here and there (including one of Sync's boots, one of Rita's boots, one of Emil's gloves, and Reid's top). So, yeah. May or may not manage that one._

 _On the subject of drawings: goo. gl/ GUi4VM. Remove the spaces of course, and go vote. I'll update that as I pull things down to draw them._

 _Um... Nope. I think that was it. Well... This is the last Part of Chapter 1. Aside from that..._

 _I apologize. This chapter turned into Kairi reflecting on everything that's happened since she landed on Auldrant, so it's rather boring and there's nothing new here. Next week's update will be much better. (On that note, I'm doing pretty good updating on time, huh?)_

 _...Yeah, I'm done now._

 _Onward!_

* * *

 _But Dark, knight in not-so-shiny armor as he was, had come after Natalia, dragging a rather odd assortment of our friends with him. Ion, for one thing. -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.6 - The Return  
Part 6**

It was just before dawn when two of us stepped off the ferry in Grand Chokmah. Rialle wasn't dressed in her Oracle Knights uniform. Instead, she wore a dark pink tank top with a loose, off-the-shoulder pale pink t-shirt over it, and a brown skirt.

I was dressed in my Oracle Knights uniform, with a brown pouch around my hip with some spare medicines until I could get my wing pack back.

She was here to get ready for her part in the Blue Lights Festival.

I was here on business. Well, mostly.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tonight," Rialle said. I nodded.

"Go on. I'm going to look around for a while. I'm not sure how many of the others are here already or how many were planning on getting here just before the festival starts," I said. She smiled and skipped off, and I sighed and started moving. It was early, very early, but there were already people wandering around and putting decorations up.

The blue lights the festival was named for wouldn't be lit until sunset, but I could care less as I watched people hustling about to get everything set up. Did I dare stop by the palace? Jade was sure to be there, and—

"Kairi?"

I paused and turned, smiling when I recognized the two people standing behind me. "Long time no see, Barst. Glad to see you got out of Keterburg alright," I said. Arielle giggled next to him, and he huffed.

"Barely. Owe it to those ligers," Barst said. "What happened with you that night, anyway?"

I shrugged. "Went after the arsonist and ended up setting _myself_ on fire. Not real helpful, but I'm alive, and I got something out of it, so at least I can say it wasn't a total waste of time. I'd actually meant to ask Nephry where you'd ended up, but things really picked up after Keterburg and I just never had the time," I said. Barst chuckled.

"I know. Been talking to a fellow by the name of Levi. Interesting kid, that one."

Arielle snorted. "And totally hopeless."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Barst threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, you'll love this! Guess who's been trying to catch Ellie's eye here, hm?"

I couldn't help it. I busted up laughing and gave Arielle a somewhat sympathetic look. She nodded her head toward Barst's broad back and shrugged in that 'what can you do?' manner, and I grinned.

"That's sweet." I paused and glanced at the sky. It was getting lighter... "On that note, I really should go see Jade. If he catches wind of me wandering around, he may or may not send men after me. Best to just go get it over with," I said. Arielle and Barst nodded, and they continued off one way while I headed another, still meandering through the streets. I knew Grand Chokmah well enough now to find landmarks and navigate by those, though I still tended to get lost if I couldn't _see_ my landmarks.

Still, the palace and military headquarters were rather distinctive, and while I wasn't in much of a hurry, I still got there well before the sun had risen above the columns and waterfalls. They were weaker than they had been, but I knew, the moment Undine was freed, the fonic glyphs that directed that water would be stressed trying to keep it under control.

My eyes narrowed at it as I thought back to Lorelei's vision as Doppel had described it. Grand Chokmah had been subjected to water and fire...

I stepped up in front of the men guarding the military headquarters, and after a moment of surprise, since they hadn't spotted me coming in from the side, they relaxed.

"Ah, Major Balfour. The Colonel's in his office," one of them said. I nodded once, hiding my frown as I stepped inside and made the trip to Jade's office.

I opened the door as quietly as I could and stepped in wearing the frown I'd hidden from the guards. "Whoever's in charge of the men out front needs to remind them of the sheer number of replicas still gathering at the Tower of Rem. We _know_ Rhunön has my replica data."

Jade jerked, stared at the black line on his paperwork for a moment, then looked up at me and stared a few more moments. "When did you get back, and how did you get your uniform so fast?" There was a pause. "And what do the guards and replicas have to do with anything?"

I couldn't help it. I snickered. "Sounds to me like someone could use a hard reboot. You're usually faster on the uptake than this."

Jade blinked a few times, glanced at the clock, and the not-so-hidden widening of his eyes told me enough. He'd gone and worked through the night.

I sighed. "Lorelei save me from workaholic brothers. Go, sleep. I'll pick your brain later," I ordered. Jade looked rather guilty at that, and after setting whatever I'd startled him into making an ink streak on aside, he stood and walked around the desk.

I'm going to blame the desperate hug on two things. First, he did basically watch me die. And, well, Jade does some rather weirder than normal shit when he's exhausted. So I just hugged him back and then started dragging him through headquarters. He needed sleep. Badly. And the fact that he was _letting_ me drag him along so easily told me that he agreed.

By the time I had him in bed and had made it out to the balcony in his room, the sun was well and truly in the sky. I glanced over shortening shadows as I watched men and women working to set up the large courtyard in front of the palace for the festival. Which would begin tonight, and go on through the next two days.

But the Dances of the Fonons only happened on that first night, and Rialle had said everyone had agreed to be here by then, so I had until then to finish getting things worked out in my head.

Because it was all a mess.

I decided to go over what I knew was messed up from the game.

Asch and Sync were alive. Largo was alive. Cantabile was alive. Three of those were God-Generals, Largo was Acting Chief of Staff in Sync's place. Reighn, Dark, Flick, Seth, Selenia, and so many others simply _existed_ , but that wasn't too surprising. And I was getting sidetracked...

Van had actually died at the Absorption Gate. Luke and Asch had been healed by me after the Tower of Rem. Luke hadn't disappeared after freeing Lorelei.

The fonon sentiences were free.

I groaned and shook my head. Too much, too quickly. Landing on Auldrant, meeting Sync, meeting Asch, Lorelei's vision—

Wait.

Back in Akzeriuth, the very first time we'd visited, Lorelei had contacted me. Asked me to stop Van... and we had. I'm fairly certain that's also when he opened my fonslots. But in the core, and in the future he showed Luke... And seventh fonons liked me about as much as third fonons, but that had been gradual, because I'd actually been able to work with them in Daath, when Asch and I took that fateful trip to Aramis Spring. So how come they shied away from me now?

Why did I feel like I was missing something? A rather large part of the puzzle?

Actually, if I was being honest with myself, I was holding about a hundred pieces in a 500-piece puzzle.

So I needed to find the people with the other four hundred pieces...

Jade was good with puzzles. I'd definitely need to pick his brain when he woke up.

Back to where I'd been... Akzeriuth, the passage rings, meeting Jade, telling Asch, Sync, and Dark, the passage rings, just... traveling. I sighed as nostalgia overcame me, and edged over to one side of the balcony to lean against the wall. I missed the days when it was just the three of us, honestly. Me, and Asch, and Sync, and no world to worry about saving, no soldiers to whip into shape, no political games to play... Just the three of us and the open road.

We'd have to do some wandering again when this was over. Just for old times' sake... And now I sounded old.

Shaking that ridiculousness off, my mind moved on to Danté's kidnapping, and my escape, and the race to the Cheagle Woods. The liger queen, the attack on the Tartarus... yeah. That's where everything started to speed up. I'd been struggling to stay two steps ahead, and...

Akzeriuth. That's where I'd finally stumbled. Where Van had taken Luke instead of Asch on the griffin. Where Jade had found out about the miasma in my body. And they'd left me in Yulia City, and when I'd come up, there'd been that rescue mission in Daath...

Before Van's death, I'd had nothing but bad luck with Daath. Luck that had held for that mission. We'd made it out, and to Nephry's, and we'd double-checked the Mt. Roneal sephiroth and convinced Jade of our insanity...

I couldn't stop the small laugh at that memory; coming back from Mt. Roneal, we'd announced our presences in our usual obnoxious way, and then made Asch jealous because he'd missed the ice slides.

The laughter from that had carried us through to Theor Forest. Then... Then we'd faced the second Sword Dancer. And I'd over-done it, and then the Oracle Knights attacked, and Seth was revealed...

Largo and Star had been waiting for us, and the setup I'd had for my fonslots right then meant Dark's healing arte had a rather unhelpful side-effect—we'd gotten blasted to the Meggiora Highlands.

This was where I'd fallen out of step entirely. Van had found us, had attacked... He and Zion had taken me with them. And though I knew things had happened—the falling of St. Binah, the retrieval of the Albiore, the evacuation of Engeve and the lowering of the land—I'd missed all of it, cut off from the world as I was with Zion, Van, and Luke. Though, I had gotten to teach Luke some fonic artes...

Danté had captured Natalia. And they'd replicated us both.

But Dark, knight in not-so-shiny armor as he was, had come after Natalia, dragging a rather odd assortment of our friends with him.

Ion, for one thing. Wielding a second pair of fonic guns, probably a spare set of Dark's. Seth, who by that time was well and truly on our side, rather than a mole planted by Zion. Reighn, the rather sarcastically-inclined eternal pessimist who felt he owed me far too much. And then I'd picked up a wandering Luke.

We'd gone to the ligers, meeting first Sorylle's family, then Twilight's. We'd watched the now-former Eastern and Western Clans racing across the fragile ice bridges between Northern Rugnica and South-Eastern Sylvana. Then we'd gone to Grand Chokmah, to Emperor Peony, the Dark Wings, and _beds_. Ion and Natalia definitely appreciated that last one.

The Dark Wings had let us hitch a ride to Tataroo Valley, where we'd run into the third Sword Dancer... The one that had almost killed Seth, that Dark had almost killed himself to save the rest of us. I'd almost lost confidence in myself, in my ability to lead and make those sorts of decisions, despite Reighn deciding right then was an excellent time to drop the 'would you be a God-General?' question on my head.

We'd then gone to Daath, and, in keeping with my particular track record, we'd gotten split up. One half had been arrested, the other had escaped... well, and Reighn apparently 'defected.'

One thing had led to another, and the Clans had been brought up... And as that was a whole other can of worms, I chose to slide it off to the side for now. Duke Fabre had turned out to be a more than bearable person, and we'd gone back to Daath... Where, to make my record look non-suspicious, Dark got shot. And Guy got his memories back anyway.

Sheridan had thrown me off-balance... perhaps that was another city I should have learned to avoid?

I'd been out on the observation deck at sunrise. And Asch had come out to talk.

For a few, heart-racing moments, I'd been so sure I'd screwed up by kissing him. I'd told Jade the truth about my past, and then we'd gone to Baticul, with my heart and mind still all up in knots...

Everything had gone well. Convincing Ingobert, the Yulia City Peace Conference, the Core Operation, getting the second Albiore, splitting up...

It was once we'd gotten to the Gates that trouble had struck. Van had laid a trap, one even Zion hadn't wanted to fall into.

I frowned at that. Zion... He'd shattered the semi-normalcy that had developed over the half a month after the Absorption Gate by burning Keterburg to the ground. The replica army that had attacked us later had been nothing compared to the terror I'd felt then.

The replica army had brought everything back to the game. The miasma, Mohs' return—though thank Lorelei he'd grabbed Florian instead of Ion—the traveling Scorers, the Isle of Feres, the Tower of Rem, Eldrant...

Everything had happened so quickly at the end there. I'd had no time to act, only react... and I screwed up when I reacted.

I shook my head to clear it, and finally noticed the sound of voices wafting through the open balcony doors.

"I'd have sworn..." Jade was muttering. "No, I must have been imagining things."

"I hope for all our sakes, you weren't."

Asch, sounding far too serious given that it was now mid-afternoon, and the festival was due to start in just a few short hours.

"Why?" Jade asked. Curious, not much else.

"Because I can't leave Auldrant. I can't get to the TimeStream. And if I can't get out..."

Jade was silent. "Kairi won't be able to get in."

"Are you _sure_ you were just hallucinating this morning?"

"No..." Jade sounded thoughtful now. "No. In fact, she said something about the guards and replicas. What bothers me is... why would she have been wearing her Oracle Knights uniform?"

I frowned and stepped out into the balcony doorway. "Well, at least now your brain isn't spazzing from one thing to the next..."

Asch actually _jumped_ , while Jade whirled around, spear already in hand, before recognizing who he was looking at. The spear disappeared quickly, and Asch blinked at me.

"When did you get back?"

I frowned and actually thought about it. "Four and a half days ago. I landed on a pebble beach in north-western Padamiya... Among the destruction of Phaïe's monolith. Don't ask me how; if I knew how I landed in Keterburg the first time, I'd tell you."

Asch's lips twitched up into a smile.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Hehehe... All of my plotting is coming out beautifully... And, as you can see, it's a good thing Kairi's already back. Because as Asch has discovered, Rem's erected her barrier... not realizing that Kairi's already back. Whelp. On to the next plot disaster-I mean point! Plot_ point _!_


	7. Chapter 2-1 Part 7

_Well. In my defense. I didn't have this chapter separated from the main document yet. Whoops. Close enough.  
_

 _But, here you go! And don't worry, V-Gurl. You'll get your 'fluff-ish' reunion (if I can ever spell 'fluff' correctly... kept trying to put 'g' where 'f' belonged...) during this chapter and next chapter. Then the action picks up_ again _..._

 _Also... I love Asch's line up here. Just... I love it. Really._

* * *

" _Hmm? Now what's this about a ring?" –Jade_

" _Cantabile's a terror, Jade's a terror... I really don't want to see any of their kids." –Asch_

" _Remind me not to get on your bad side." –Sync_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.1 – Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 7**

I told Asch and Jade the bare minimum. I wanted to save explaining _everything_ until later, when I could tell everyone at once and not have to be repeating myself. The bare minimum seemed to be fine with the two of them though, since it included some of what I'd found out at the Mt. Zaleho passage ring.

The hellhounds, I'd left out. I hadn't said _much_ about the passage ring, either, just that I'd confirmed that Ifrit was freed...

We were stepping out of Jade's quarters when my brother finally asked me one of the questions I'd been hoping he wouldn't.

"So, since you're back now, I guess we'll be working on what to do with the Planet Storm gone?" Jade asked. I flinched. He sighed. "Oh dear."

I hummed. "Jade... I already told you I had some worrying news about the passage rings... From what I was able to gather, the fonons with freed sentiences are flowing in abundance. In fact... If I'm right? The entire reason why they needed the Planet Storm two thousand years ago was because the sentiences were sealed away."

"...I think we're going to have to stop at another sephiroth sometime soon."

Asch looked irritated with Jade's statement, and I raised an eyebrow. "What? It's not like there's any miasma left to—oh, hell."

Asch stopped and crossed his arms. "You know I don't like it when you say things like that."

I bit my lip. "I was _pulled_ back Asch. I didn't build this body... You've gotten good with Scan. Could you...?"

Asch looked worried now, but used the arte anyway, green-glowing hands hovering over me in a manner that might have had another woman turning bright red. To be honest, I was more concerned with the near-panic that was starting to slip through Asch's calm façade.

He finally swallowed and pulled away, refusing to look at me. I sighed.

"Then, I was right. I'm in the same condition I was in before, if not worse."

Jade made a soft sound of protest, while Asch just nodded once. I sighed.

"Well. No use crying over spilt milk. I'll continue to see what I can do about cleaning my body back up, but for now... Shouldn't some of the others be here?" I asked. Jade nodded.

"Yes. Asch, you said Sync and Selenia came in with you?"

Asch nodded, eyes shifting back to me. "Yeah. Reighn has your wing pack, except... Silver Clematis..."

"It's gone. Back to the Sword Dancer. Although... I'm sorry."

Asch now looked totally baffled. "For what?"

I pulled my glove off my right hand and lifted my _bare_ hand. "I don't know what happened to it. Doppel never mentioned anything, so I don't think she knows either."

Which had Asch and Jade both giving me odd looks.

"And who, exactly, is Doppel?"

I smirked. "Oh, just my Doppelganger back on Earth who's been documenting my adventures. I got sick of calling her 'Doppelganger' all the time and shortened it to 'Doppel'."

Asch sighed, then offered up one of his small smiles that I knew were more sincere than just about every other expression he made. "I'm just glad you're alright. The ring's replaceable. You aren't," he said.

"Hmm? Now what's this about a ring?"

I broke down into cackles as Asch blinked at Jade, then realized that my brother had apparently taken that in entirely the wrong way. Though, from the shit-eating grin Jade wore, I'd say he was probably just teasing Asch.

"It was just a promise ring!"

And now Jade chuckled a bit. "Relax, I was teasing. I saw it the moment you two walked up in Chesedonia. She didn't have a glove on her right hand with that outfit, remember?"

I nodded. "Shame, too. I _liked_ that outfit."

Jade shrugged. "Bring it up with the emperor. I'm fairly certain he's the one that made it. Or... Well, if he didn't, York did, and those two seem to have worked out some sort of scarily-efficient messaging system."

I grinned. "No. York probably just told him how to use the one that loops through Nam Cobanda Isle. Since Urushi's _always_ watching their end, and there's always someone at the Isle keeping an eye out for messages, they can get word around in just a few minutes. Pretty impressive, considering the, pardon my blunt phrasing, backwoods technology level the rest of the planet's at compared to Earth."

Asch crossed his arms. "Given how well you took to Dawn Age tech, I think you've _earned_ the right to call everything else rather low-tech."

I shrugged. "Maybe? Well, regardless, let's go see who's here and who isn't. Rialle's somewhere getting ready for her part tonight, but I'm wanting to see some of the others... Your replica, especially, since Luke seems to have a rather patchy memory for what Lorelei showed him," I said. Asch nodded, and Jade stepped past us to lead the way out of the palace.

Asch walked next to me, and somewhere between Jade's quarters and the exit, he slipped his hand into mine and held on tight. I squeezed back.

Asch had almost lost me. Really. Because if Danté hadn't cut me loose and pulled me away from the Monolith of Syal, I'd have died.

That brush with death felt rather... distant, when I'd come around again. Because it had, technically, been Doppel in charge and not _me_ , Kairi. Doppel hadn't been strung up to the Monolith of Syal, Doppel hadn't almost died... So it hadn't really sunk in while I'd been on Earth.

Then, when I'd finally come to forefront and overtaken Doppel, I'd had Shandon and then Rabecah to distract me.

But landing in the destruction of Phaïe's monolith, and then the long walk to Daath Bay, had given me plenty of time to think on my near-death.

I'd come so close to not being able to come back.

That Asch seemed to _need_ the comfort of holding onto me just cemented that feeling of 'I almost died'.

Really, hanging onto Asch's hand was helping to keep me calm. Because I was _here_ , and if I was _here_ , I wasn't _dead_.

Yet.

And, much as I'd have loved to squash that rather pessimistic thought, I had to admit that there was the very high chance of me dying in the mess that I just knew was coming.

Shadow and Lorelei would be our allies.

Gnome, Undine, Rem, and Ifrit our enemies.

Sylph was a wild card.

And that was completely discounting the other people I _knew_ were running around. Myre, whom Lorelei had told Luke would _not_ be our ally. Dist, though given his uselessness in the game, I was fine with mostly disregarding him. Mohs.

Mohs had me concerned. He likely still had many replicas at his disposal. Perhaps not the army he'd built initially, but a lot of replicas, regardless. And with the Score so badly dislodged, there was no doubt that he'd be after us for ruining his plans.

Also, given the fact that Sync, Ion—Solace, I corrected myself—and Florian had rather neatly humiliated him when he'd tried to kill 'Ion' in Mt. Zaleho, he'd probably be jumping on Star's 'kill all Ion replicas' bandwagon.

Which reminded me... "Star isn't dead, is she?"

Jade glanced back at me as we walked through the courtyard in front of the palace. "I'm not sure. Asch and I both went to try to rescue you... You'll have to ask one of the Eldrant team members."

"Or you could just ask me, since I saw her two days ago," Cantabile said, managing to answer my question, announce her presence, and startle Jade all in one go. I smirked and winked at her, noting as I did so that she was, for I think the third or fourth time in all the time I'd known her, _not_ wearing her Oracle Knights uniform.

In fact, she was wearing a kimono. A black and gray kimono, but a kimono.

"Well, I suppose that answers _that_ question... and where did you get that?" Jade asked. Cantabile tilted her head to the side in a movement that I recognized as Sync's 'I'ma gonna try to play innocent' look.

"Nephry gave it to me."

"Is she running around in a pink kimono?" I asked. Cantabile gave me a look.

"Maybe... So, when did you get back?"

I sighed. "Few days ago. It's been... a rather hectic week, to be honest. Before and after landing on the northwestern edge of Padamiya," I replied. "Anyway, you wouldn't happen to know where your son is, would you?"

Cantabile looked thoughtful. "I would suggest searching for a white and blue kimono and brown braids. Where Selenia is, Sync is sure to be nearby. Though, I hope you don't mind looking without your brother."

I smirked. "Nah. I've got my boyfriend. I think I'll be okay."

Jade gave me a look of mock-betrayal as Cantabile reached out and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him off toward where the festival games and such were already attracting crowds.

Asch just chuckled as we walked off in another direction ourselves. "You're enjoying playing matchmaker, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I didn't actually do it on purpose originally. And to be honest... Jade and Cantabile really don't have the time to go out on dates and stuff all the time. They're both military, for different countries, at that, and that they've managed to find actual love at all is a bit of a miracle given that Jade can't stop himself from poking fun at someone and Cantabile... Well."

"Cantabile's a terror, Jade's a terror... I _really_ don't want to see any of their kids," Asch muttered.

"Hm. That explains _so_ much about Sync, doesn't it?"

"Kairi. Stop saying things like that. I thought we were, you know, trying to relax and enjoy ourselves. Not give each other nightmares."

I giggled.

"Wha—Kairi?!"

I stopped and turned slightly, though not as much as I'd meant to, since Asch was still hanging onto my hand.

Sync grinned and ran over to hug me, Selenia giggling and chasing after him. "You're back!" Selenia cheered.

I nodded as Sync released me and took a step back. "Yup. You two have been behaving, right?"

Sync just kinda blinked at me, but Selenia tried—and failed—to muster up a disapproving glare. I grinned at her and got an amused shake of the head for my efforts.

"I see you already found Asch," Sync said after glancing between me and Selenia and apparently deciding not to ask. "Did you come back through Jade's mindscape or...?"

I sighed. "You know what? Do me a favor? Anyone you see who hasn't seen me yet? Tell them not to ask when or how I got back. I'll tell everyone later. For now, I'd like to take a little bit of time to get some relaxing done instead of having to worry about explaining things over and over again."

Selenia cringed. "Oh. That bad, huh?"

I sighed. "Worse than you're thinking, I'm sure. By the way, do you know where Seth and Flick are?"

Sync shook his head. "Seth should have been here yesterday, and Flick's doing the fifth fonon dance tonight, so she's been preparing for that all day. Reighn's at the bar, though. You might want to see if you can catch him before he drinks himself to passing out _again_."

I scowled. "I'm guessing this is round three?"

Selenia nodded. "Yeah. Um... Did something happen with him and Tear? 'Cause he was fine until she went to talk to him about something three days ago, and then he saw her again earlier and said he was gonna go to the bar..."

I sighed and looked over at Asch. "Why don't you see how many of our friends you can round up? I think Reighn and I need to have a talk... and then I may have to go knock Tear upside the head once or twice."

Asch nodded. "Alright. Just... You know where the main part of the festival is taking place, right?"

"The park just east of the palace courtyard. Believe me, I can find my way there, Asch."

He smiled. "Just making sure. Want me to track down Tear for you?"

I smirked. "Excellent. You do that, and I'll go see about getting Reighn sobered back up a little less painlessly than I did right before Eldrant."

Sync snickered. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

I shook my head at the teen who was technically my nephew before heading off in the direction of the bar that I knew Reighn would be drowning his heartache in.

A heartache he and Tear didn't have to inflict on each other, given the fact that they had been unable to date before due to both being Clan Heads. With the monoliths destroyed or well on their way to being destroyed, the seals were done for, and they didn't have to keeping dancing around each other like this.

And if that little fact wasn't enough to snap the two of them out of it, I'd just knock them _both_ upside the head. Well, I'd probably focus on Reighn. Mostly because, like with Eldrant, with the sentiences freed and probably not at all happy, we needed him... well. Not drunk.

"That is a terrifying expression."

I paused and glanced to the side, then smirked at Dark. "I'm about to go smack Reighn for drinking again. Wanna come watch?"

Dark shook his head. "Thanks, but... no thanks."

I frowned. "What's wrong?"

He looked around, then sighed. "Nothing. I just..."

"If it's about Danté, you don't need to worry. He's currently on another world with a rather stubborn little kid and his not-exactly-liger-pet who are both determined to keep him around whether he likes it or not."

Dark stared at me for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Thanks. That... actually makes me feel a lot better."

I grinned. "Good. Now I'm going to go kick Reighn in the ass."

"I thought you were going to smack him?"

"That too."

"In the ass?"

I giggled. "No. On the head. Speaking of which, get yours out of the gutter."

Dark laughed and walked off, Sorylle padding along on his heels, and I continued on my way toward the bar.

I walked in once I got there and glanced around, looking for the blue-haired guy wearing blue. Which was the nice thing about Reighn. He was fairly easy to spot in a crowd...

And, it looked to me like Tear was _already_ ripping into him for his drinking.

Good.

I smirked, stood back, and watched for a few minutes.

Then Tear sighed and walked off, leaving Reighn looking sheepish—and very much aware of his one-woman audience.

"Sorry you had to see that..." he murmured. I smirked.

"Be glad Tear got to you first."

Reighn cringed. "Yeah. Oh!" He reached into his bag and held out my wing pack. "This, is yours."

I smiled.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Reighn, for all of his intelligence, takes after one of his older brothers in the one way I wish he wouldn't—when he's really angry with himself, he goes after alcohol. Thankfully, that's the_ only _time he goes after alcohol. (Also, to those of you who have trouble with ages, Reighn_ is _legal to be drinking at 22 years old.)_

 _Funny little ditty that has nothing to do with the story but does have to do with the little note on alcohol down here- Mom took me and Nathan out to dinner the other day. Nathan ordered an alcoholic beverage since he wasn't going to be driving. Mom gave me a_ look _. My response? "What? Nathan holds the distinction of being the only boy I've dated who's actually_ older _than me." The saddest part of this? This holds true for Kairi as well. At this point, she's twenty. Asch is (almost) eighteen. (No, the age gap will_ not _continue to stretch, and no, I will not expand upon that yet. It'll be explained in the beginning of Chapter 4.)_


	8. Chapter 2-2 Part 8

_-pokes head in, pulls back, then marches into the room, dragging along a dark-skinned man-_

 _Hi. To those of you wondering where my relatively regular updates went, I shall give you the honest answer. This guy -points to dark-skinned man- and Kairi just would not cooperate to get words onto pages before Camp NaNoWriMo started April 1st._

 _The good news is, I have two more chapters to give you before Tea and I drop out of writing mode for a couple weeks and go back to editing like crazy. (Yes, Tea's doing Camp too. Yes, this does mean she'll be updating Boundaries of the Mind sometime in the near-ish future.)_

 _The bad news is, thanks to this guy -points at companion again- only starting to cooperate in the last week or so, I'm only about ten Parts ahead. So I may or may not have to take another break in posting so I can catch up on my writing. However, should that happen (and hopefully it won't, since that's a good two months of updates), you will at least get some warning this time._

 _Now then... Enjoy the last full chapter of fluff before chaos is unleashed._

 _Dark-skinned man: Can ah leave now?_

 _Me: Most definitely not! -turns back to audience- Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"If she'll let me. Rate she's going, I'm not gonna get there until they're halfway through the vows already!" -Urushi_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.2 - Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 8**

How Nephry had gotten her hands on me and changed me into a simple green dress, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. And, really, I was having too much fun dancing with Asch to really care right then.

Everything was so... perfect.

No, I hadn't forgotten about the looming danger. The sentiences, the monsters, Lorelei's vision... Everything had just been pushed onto a back burner for a few hours, because that was the whole reason why I'd wanted to come to the Blue Lights Festival.

Asch was smiling, Selenia was giggling as she and Sync tripped over each other trying to figure out what they were doing, Dark and Natalia were looking so much happier than they had the last time I'd seen them together, and Reighn and Tear were talking off to one side. Everything was peaceful, and beautiful, and my eyes kept getting drawn back the emerald eyes that never seemed to stray from my face.

Very _amused_ emerald eyes.

I grinned as Asch twirled me, and got a chuckle in response.

"You know, I'm not sure if you're trying to micromanage things mentally or if you're just having fun watching everyone else having fun," he admitted. I laughed.

"Mostly the latter, and a bit of me having fun myself. Kinda trying to keep track of people, though."

I caught a glimpse of Solace and Anise, and it looked like they were in the middle of some sort of argument. My frown must have tipped Asch off, because he pulled us off to the side before looking that direction himself. He sighed when he saw the two. "Again?"

"They've been arguing a lot lately?"

Asch sighed. "I don't think they've _stopped_ arguing since Ion killed that soldier in Baticul. They've just been on separate teams or too damn busy to make it obvious."

I groaned. "And if I know Solace, it's _Anise_ who's been pushing it." Asch gave me a look, and I blinked at him. "What?"

"Nothing. I just find it amusing that the lone person who wasn't _told_ his new name is the only one who seems to not be slipping up."

I sighed in exasperation. "You'll get it figured out soon enough. For right now... Why don't you take Solace and see if Luke's busy? I'll deal with Anise."

He nodded and walked over, pulling Solace away before I could start grilling his Fon Master Guard.

Anise seemed like she was about to throw a fit, so I grabbed her arm and tugged gently.

She glanced up at me, looking startled, then back at where Asch was rather awkwardly talking to a near-fuming Solace. She then glared up at me, and I raised an eyebrow. "Let's take this elsewhere, okay? Maybe someplace you can screech at me and not draw so much attention."

Anise scowled. "What's it matter to you? You're not even from this world! Butt out!"

She turned to storm off after Solace, only to cry out in surprise as my gentle grip on her arm suddenly turned to steel.

This time when she glanced up at me, I know what she saw. Not the gentle-hearted fonist who'd traveled Auldrant with Asch and Sync, and certainly not the young woman who'd just been grinning as her boyfriend twirled her around.

No. Anise saw the God-General I'd become, the woman who'd fought through a hoard of ligers to save at least a few of the Eastern Clan, the woman who'd killed more replicas than she could count to protect her weary Malkuthian allies during a training exercise gone wrong.

And I out-ranked her.

She gulped, but followed me without further complaint. Once I'd found a nice, out-of-the-way place, I turned, crossed my arms, and gave her a _look_. "You two have been arguing off and on since Baticul."

Anise looked down at the ground. "He's... The guns... Seeing that look in his eyes... I..."

I sighed. "You can't stand it. It looks wrong, seeing Solace kill _anything_ , because you just can't reconcile that with the boy you knew before Akzeriuth." Anise looked up at me, surprise evident in her eyes, and I sighed. "I'll be honest. I don't really like it either. When I met him, he was innocent still. A happy pacifist who liked helping everyone." I paused and shook my head. "He's still mostly a pacifist. If he can avoid fighting through diplomacy, he'll take that route every time. But... Some people aren't strong enough to protect themselves from the people who won't listen to reason."

Anise hunched her shoulders. "I... I wanted that to be my job," she murmured. "I was gonna be the strong one, the one that dealt with the people who won't listen, and Ion... Ion would do his thing and talk to everyone else..."

I couldn't help the small smile. "So it's not just that Solace is a fighter now. You're angry because he's made you feel kinda redundant."

Brown eyes were starting to water a bit, and I sighed and reached out to hug Anise. Because she needed it. "With Mohs gone, I don't have to worry quite as much about Mama and Papa. Maestro Tritheim is helping them manage their money a little better... And now I don't know what to do... I wanted to help Ion, but..."

I hummed, still holding Anise close. "I think... Solace just needs a little more time to figure himself out. He's still very young, you know. And to go from a noncombatant to a warrior just as strong as the rest of us in so little time... He's still trying to find his own role in this messed-up world. Trying to push him is just going to hurt the both of you." I paused and pulled back slightly. "And, as far as helping goes... Florian doesn't look like he's going to be growing up any time soon, mentally, at least. You could always focus on protecting Solace's little brother."

Anise blinked up at me, then sniffed and started wiping the tears away. "Th-thanks, Kairi. And, um... I'm sorry about the 'not from the world comment earlier.' That was... really childish of me."

I giggled. "That you're apologizing for it now is enough to cancel out the childishness. So. What do you say me and you go around to a few of these booths and leave the boys wondering where we went, hm?"

It started as what could have been mistaken as a hiccup.

Then Anise laughed. "Okay!"

I grinned and led her out to where the vendors had set up their stalls along the sides of the park and down the street to the courtyard in front of the palace. Asch and Solace had been heading the other direction, so I figured we had some time before Asch caught up to us again.

As it was, we still had an hour before the Dances of the Fonons, so playing some of the festival games was a great way to pass the time... Especially when we found Guy sitting on his seat in the dunk tank. Anise decided to try to make him fall in, and Guy and I got a good laugh when one of her balls bounced off the back wall hard enough it almost hit her when it flew back.

"Bet you can't do it either!" Anise challenged when she realized I was trying—and failing, obviously—to hide my laughter. I glanced at the target and hummed. I'd never really tried this stuff before, since we'd never had all that much money for fairs and things... And, it wasn't like I hadn't gotten in recent practice playing with one of my cousins in Alabama.

"Alright. I'll give it a shot," I decided.

The first shot was a practice shot. The balls were heavier than a baseball, but roughly the same size, so I used the first one to gauge the difference in arc. Anise looked smug when it missed by rather a margin.

The second shot came very close to sending Guy for a swim.

My third—and final—shot _did_ dunk him.

"Good throw, girly!"

I glanced back and grinned. "Hey Urushi. York and Noir ditch you?"

Urushi chuckled. "Somethin' like that. Actually, I think those two are looking for Solace. Him, or the emperor. _Someone_ high enough to officiate a marriage."

"Wait, they're getting married?!" Anise cried, suddenly snapping out of the sulking she'd been doing since I'd succeeded in dunking Guy, who was climbing out of the tank altogether right now.

I grinned at the eldest member of the Dark Wings. "You gonna walk your daughter down the isle?"

Urushi just grinned. "If she'll let me. Rate she's going, I'm not gonna get there until they're halfway through the vows already!"

I laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Noir when she's made up her mind, doesn't it?"

And now Anise just looked shocked. "Wait, Noir is Urushi's daughter?"

"By marriage," Urushi admitted. "Beautiful lady, Rouge. A good wife and a better mother. I never asked who Noir's father was and she never said. So far as we were concerned, Noir may as well have been mine."

Guy walked over then with a loose kimono and haori on and a towel still around his shoulders. "The really sad part is, almost half of our group could probably get away with officiating a marriage." He glanced at me. "You, certainly. Any of the official God-Generals. Ion, er, Solace, definitely. Natalia might be able to. I can't, but Jade could..."

I snickered at the look on Anise's face. "Fun times, huh? So, you out of the fish tank for a while?" I asked Guy. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. There's five of us rotating so we don't have to sit there for too long at a shot. I was just about to climb out anyway when you two showed up. Good throw, by the way."

I giggled. "Thanks. Playing baseball with a cousin brought my aim back up to fairly good standards. So, since we've effectively killed some time, what do you say we head over to the courtyard?"

Guy chuckled. "That's right. The Dances of the Fonons are gonna start soon."

I nodded. "Yup! Rather a big part of the reason I wanted to come. Rialle's doing the Second Fonon, and I got told earlier that Flick would be doing the Fifth Fonon, which is gonna look _interesting_ with her hair and that costume, and I _really_ wanna see how the others turned out—"

"Wait, you mean you know what the different costumes look like?" Guy interrupted. "But, part of the hype is in the fact that the costumes, dances, and dancers are always different from year to year."

I nodded. "Emperor Peony wrangled his way into getting to do the costumes for this year, and it came up while York and I were talking to him after Dark and the others came to get me and Natalia away from Zion. I actually did the majority of the design work for the different costumes, then York and Peony tweaked them and actually _made_ them. So I have a general idea of what they'll look like, and now I'm getting really excited to see them."

Urushi laughed. "York was quite pleased with whatever you were coming up with, that's for sure. I don't think they've modified anything much."

Anise giggled. "Well, if we're gonna go watch, we'd better go!"

I nodded. "Definitely."

Urushi led the way, Anise skipping along next to me and Guy on my other side, careful to keep his distance. We picked up Luke and Solace about halfway there, and Asch and Noelle caught up fairly quickly afterwards. Noelle gravitated toward Guy, of course, and I found my right hand once again captured by Asch's left.

I smiled at him as we walked. Perfect. Tonight was perfect...

By the time we made it to the courtyard, everyone was starting to gather. Asch and I got separated from the others, but since we were still together, that was fine, too. We found a nice spot to watch the whole courtyard from, and settled in to wait.

"So, what names did they assign this year?" Asch asked. I snorted.

"Do you really want to know?"

Asch smiled. "Mm... I've seen one of these before... well, part of it. I got to see the third, fourth, and fifth fonons before Van noticed I was gone. I'm just curious, since the names usually give hints to what the dances will be like. That, and I forgot to grab a program," he admitted. I giggled, glancing around at the seven carefully-designed barriers that hid the dancers from view until it was time for their solos.

"The first one's Creeping Shadows. York and I sorta twisted it from what I think the person who came up with it had intended, though," I admitted. "Then Stubborn Earth, the Four Winds, Lady of the Lake, Will o' the Wisp, which actually was substituted for Wildfire after..." I trailed off and gave Asch a meaningful look. He grimaced, knowing I was talking about Keterburg. "Radiance of Judgment and Melody of Memory are the last two."

Asch hummed, then looked up, and it was no wonder.

I smiled as the fires around the edge of the courtyard were dimmed. Night had fallen. It was time for the first dance...

The melody reminded me strongly of 'Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore' as it began, and I was mildly amused to be able to guess exactly when the dancer portraying the first fonon would make her appearance.

Rather than depicting the shadows around the courtyard as frightening, the woman, whose dark hair drifted around her like a cloak, treated them as old friends, welcoming them toward her and the audience. Her dress, a fairly simple black, violet, and dark blue number, was all soft edges and curves. The others who danced with her were young, Flick's age and younger.

"Nightfall..." Asch whispered as the dance neared its end, the woman having apparently put her 'children' to bed and now watching over them. "You twisted it into nightfall."

I nodded. "The darkness isn't supposed to be frightening."

The first Dance ended, and once the applause had died down and the courtyard was left devoid of dancers again, another song started. This one was faster, more akin to Teir Abhaile Riu.

Rialle made her appearance almost immediately, dancing around in a cheerful, almost searching manner. Two other dancers seemed to be trying to get her attention, and it was so very reminiscent of the Celtic Woman song I'd likened the melody to that I was giggling by the time it got to the point where the other two dancers gave in and joined Rialle.

"Is it just me, or is her dress reminiscent of Ion's Earthbender costume?" Asch whispered.

Which had me giggling a bit more. "Something like that. They both draw from the same Earth culture, at least," I admitted.

He chuckled along.

Perfect.

Tonight was perfect...

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Remember the names of the dances! They come up again later..._

 _On another note, the Dances of the Fonons thing, and what happens next chapter, has been planned since I started the rewrite of A Ripple in the Abyss. Most of An Echo through Time didn't get plotted out until I was well into the rewrite of A Spatial Tear. So this has been a long time in the works, and I'm really glad to finally see it actually going somewhere._


	9. Chapter 2-3 Part 9

_Whoops, sorry! Started work on Monday and have been so brain-dead from the repetitiveness of what I'm doing now that I totally forgot to post this on Friday. -is shot-_

 _Anyway, now that Camp NaNoWriMo's over and editing is well on the way, apparently I'm in a drawing mood again, so let's see how many drawings I can crank out for May, hm?_

 _Okay, enough of my distractions. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"That's interesting. Though not usually applied as a curse." -Dark_

 _"I_ feel _like I'm holding all the clues I need. But... my brain's a little too frazzled to compute anything right now." -Kairi_

 _"I hope you have more control over this than I did..." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.3 - Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 9**

The Four Winds started slowly, calmly, and I was mildly surprised to see that the woman wearing the mostly-silver dress I'd designed was Jozette Cecille.

The first two dancers to join her wore purple, one of the colors that accented her dress. The first part of the dance indicated the still air before dawn, before the world has warmed. As the music sped up partly, those two split off and two more replaced them, these two wearing green-accented clothes. This part indicated the pleasant breeze of a warm day, a gentle wind that carried new seeds to their new homes.

Then the music started to pick up, the green-garbed backup dancers replaced by two wearing pink instead.

These two danced in perfect harmony with each other, but not with Jozette. Though, that was sort of the point. These were the winds that brought the storms.

Pink was replaced with orange as the music reached a crescendo, and I grinned. Again, all three of them were in harmony, this time as the winds driving the storm.

The other six dancers joined in, each taking a direction—purple to the east, green to the south, pink to the west, orange to the north—as the song neared its conclusion, and I grinned. That had come out better than I'd anticipated, to be honest.

Asch chuckled at me as the nine dancers cleared the courtyard and the fires were dimmed again after having been allowed to glow brighter for the Four Winds. Fitting, given that we were about to do the Lady of the Lake.

Calm, this song. I didn't recognize the woman who stepped out into the courtyard, though I felt like I should have. Brown hair and eyes like ice...

"That's odd. I thought the woman they'd asked to do the Lady of the Lake had black hair."

I glanced up at Peony, who had slipped through the crowds at some point to join us.

Wait.

I looked back at the woman. Despite the soft music, the gentle appearance her flowing gown and the pearl net in her hair gave her, and her slow movements, it was obvious that she was _not_ portraying Undine as a gentle, if firm woman.

No. Instead, she painted a picture of someone who didn't seem to care. 'Stay away from my shores, and you will live,' the woman's movements seemed to say. 'Come, and drown.'

I swallowed. Brown hair. And what was obviously a warrior's build under the flowing blue satin and chiffon. "Myre."

"What?!" Asch gasped.

" _That_ 's Myre. Watch her movements, Asch. It's subtle, but she's changed the entire theme of the dance. Instead of showing Undine as simply a firm queenly type..."

Asch watched as the woman's dance ended, and I saw it when he realized the implications of the way she'd been moving. "She's painting her as a murderer."

"Given what Lorelei showed Luke of Baticul and Chesedonia... Yes. I can believe that Myre is trying to warn us," I replied softly.

Myre stepped away from the courtyard center and merged with the crowd, but that net of pearls was distinctive enough to follow, even as the faster beat and cheerful tune of the next song began and the fires flared again.

I barely noticed Flick dancing around, apparently leading her backup dancers on merry little adventures. I was more preoccupied with Myre, because that had to be Myre, and the way she was watching the braziers around the courtyard...

I glanced behind me, to where Asch and Peony were following me. Then I glanced back at Myre.

She was watching the fires.

Grand Chokmah had been destroyed by water and _fire_.

Ifrit was going to make an appearance.

That my Talent immediately started screaming at me told me we were out of time. "Asch, find the others, Ifrit's _here_ , Peony, get the military and get these people out of here!" I shouted, turning and racing toward the center of the courtyard. Because if I was right—

The fires flared high and strong, and several people screamed as they gathered right above Flick and coalesced into something that looked quite honestly demonic. Flick gasped and stopped, wide crimson eyes locked on the creature above her.

"Flick, _move_!"

That two of us shouted this, and I _didn't_ recognize the second voice, told me that I'd been right. That was Myre running in, still dressed up as the Lady of the Lake, and a rather heavy-looking mace in hand. She scowled at me.

"You think you'll be able to do any good against him?" she sneered. I noted Flick running the other direction as Ifrit's fires caught most of the courtyard decorations.

"Not sure. But I'd like to think I can buy us a little time," I replied, summoning Phaïe's Song. Myre seemed surprised by its appearance, and I glanced at her again. She looked almost like...

" _Selenia!"_

The girl in question screamed, and though I didn't dare look back when I was a little more preoccupied with launching an Ice Fang at Ifrit, I heard _both_ splashes.

"They'll live. For now."

I hate it when I'm right.

Myre was graceful, despite her rather unwieldy weapon and the dress that I knew had to be impeding her movement. And since I was now rather certain of who she was, fighting alongside her was easier than it might have been.

I scowled as Ifrit suddenly seemed to notice what I was fighting with.

"That... 'at's a part of..."

That he suddenly broke off into chuckles had me glancing at Myre, who looked... hopeful...?

Of course, the rather large fireballs that then rained down on us had me cursing, both in English and in liger. A familiar chuckle preceded an icy arte that had Ifrit growling.

"That's interesting," Dark commented. "Though not usually applied as a curse."

I decided I didn't _want_ to know what I'd said, and instead used another Ice Fang.

That seemed to actually hurt Ifrit, unlike Dark's... whatever he'd used... and the demon-esque creature knocked me back. I hissed and glanced at the burns on my clothes and bare skin. Okay. Not good.

"Dammit! Kairi!"

I jumped and rolled, and just in time, since Ifrit seemed to be focusing on me.

"The civilians are out of the way—what the hell are _you_ still doing here?!"

I glanced over. Jade was talking to Myre, who was just a couple yards away from me now.

"That's really none of your business, now is it?" Myre shot back before scowling at Ifrit. "Oi, Candletop! Erk, can't believe I'm doing this..." That second part wasn't meant for the rest of us to hear, I'm sure, but I heard it anyway.

That Ifrit glanced down at her in what was obviously confusion told me who she'd been... insulting?

The shockwave that hit me a second later came from Myre, but something was wrong.

Well, not quite right, at least.

Those hadn't been fonons. And those _weren't_ fonons swirling around her now, even as she stood tall and proud.

The world went dark, everyone on the battlefield fading into a half-dimension. I recognized this well. So, she had a Mystic Arte.

"Countless heralds of ice, seek the end of your journey!" Myre cried, free arm lifted toward the heavens. That hand slashed down toward Ifrit, even as several very _large_ chunks of ice and rock formed up above him. "Comet Fall!"

The sentience saw the 'comets' coming, and looked a bit confused.

Then they struck, and Ifrit screamed. Whether in rage or pain, I didn't know, nor was I sure I wanted to know.

All I really knew was that the fifth fonons that had made him up dispersed as the Mystic Arte ended, and Myre's mace disappeared in the flash of fonons that always indicated someone using fonon contamination as a cargo-carrying method.

Handy, but dangerous if you weren't careful or very used to it.

That Myre did it so thoughtlessly told me she'd been doing it for a long time.

I let Phaïe's Song return to my arm as well, even as Myre stalked across the ruined courtyard toward the military headquarters. Temporary changing rooms had been set up there, so I guessed that her usual clothing was what she was after right now.

The other members of our group started filtering back, and I glanced around. "Is everyone okay?"

Asch scowled, stomped over to me, and forced me to sit down. That action brought my attention back to the burns littered across my arms and stomach. "Aside from you? Everyone's fine. Panicked, trying to figure out what the hell's going on, but fine." He started with a Scan, then a Heal once he was sure nothing was infected. "You know, when you told us to get everyone out, I didn't expect you to try to stay back and fight that thing."

"What _was_ that anyway?!" Luke asked.

"Ifrit."

All of us turned to see the woman who was walking toward us. Now, with her hair up in a tight ponytail, save for one lock that fell in her face, I could see the resemblance I'd been looking for earlier.

I glanced at the others, wondering if they'd seen it too.

"And you are...?" Jade started.

"Myre."

The woman turned to me, looking... not _quite_ curious.

That expression faded again a second later. "You should leave. Comet Fall was enough to startle Ifrit and disperse the fonons he'd used to give himself a solid form. He _will_ return, and when he does, he will raze Grand Chokmah to the ground. Gnome will settle for no less."

Luke grimaced, obviously seeing Lorelei's vision in his head again. "There has to be something we can do to stop him."

Myre snorted. "Please. Ifrit is fire and _chaos_. You cannot predict when he will appear, nor what course of action he will take."

I took a deep breath, and focused. Myre was certain Ifrit would return. And what she'd said at the end there...

My secondary Talent sent back a weak feeling.

"Ifrit _will_ return. But we have a few hours yet," I said, reaching out and using Asch's shoulder to help pull myself up. "We can't defeat something that will simply disperse into the fonons that make it up and then form up again later, but we _can_ get people out."

"And what the hell makes you think you have even that much time?" Myre snapped.

I gave her a look. "If I can time Cantabile in Chesedonia, I think I can catch Ifrit."

That Myre seemed to know exactly what I was talking about only confirmed my suspicions.

"Let's hope you're right." She turned and walked toward the palace.

"And where exactly are _you_ going?" Jade asked. Myre didn't even pause.

"I need to beat Gnome to Myno's monolith. To do that, I have to deal with _your_ mistake. And getting to _her_ means tracking shit down. And I don't have time to _waste_."

Jade blinked at her, obviously confused. To be honest, so was I.

Luke glanced over at me. "Do you have any idea what _that_ was supposed to mean?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Not... really. I might be able to figure it out. I _feel_ like I'm holding all the clues I need, at least. But with Ifrit recovering from the shock of getting hit with whatever was powering Myre's Comet Fall and the rather nasty turn tonight's taken, my brain's a little too frazzled to compute anything right now," I admitted. "Let's just get as many people as we can out of here and figure out our next move. Ifrit's going to come back. There's nothing we can do about that, not when my Talent is giving me a very definite ping. We can at least minimize the casualties."

Jade nodded. "Right. If anyone's missing equipment, I suggest you go get it now. General Frings is already organizing an evacuation. I—"

Jade cut off as the ground trembled, and Selenia squeaked in alarm as she fell over, Sync doing the same.

I glanced around at the courtyard, watching as cracks appeared in the stones, and swallowed. "Whoops... Shoulda been watching out for Gnome, too..."

"Little late to be realizing that, don't you think?" Cantabile groused, barely able to keep her own balance.

A loud cracking sound split the air, and I spotted the fissure that was tearing the courtyard in two just in time to turn and drag Asch away from it before we could fall in.

When the earthquake finally stopped, I looked around. Fires still raged, pillars laid on their sides, and Asch and I on one side of a ditch and the others safely on the other side.

I say 'safely', because I fairly sure the part Asch and I were standing on was sinking... yeah, definitely sinking.

"Asch, Kairi!"

Asch noticed our little predicament too, from the way he was looking around. And that crack through the courtyard was too far to jump... Dammit, I didn't really want to go for a swim.

But... Well, Undine wasn't free _yet_. And, even as muddy as the water had suddenly become, swimming should still be an option.

Myre came racing out of the palace again before I could say as much to Asch. Though, why she was carrying around Lost Celesti was beyond me right then. "Damn! Get as close to the edge as you can!" she yelled to the other group, stopping close to the edge on our side.

"What are you going to do?" Tear called.

Myre scowled. "I'm getting us out of here. Before Gnome decides to step in himself. Though I'm not sure if it's me or Kairi he's after..."

"Probably both," I noted as she closed her eyes, arms crossed in an 'x' over her chest.

The circle of light that surrounded her had me staring.

Because that was a teleportation circle.

An _Energy_ Circle.

The exact same one I'd meant to use as an escape route, the one that had resulted in me and Asch spending a week at Aramis Spring.

"I hope you have more control over this than I did..." I said softly as I walked over to her.

Myre didn't reply. The white circle just expanded, wide enough to encompass _all_ of us, and then it turned gold, and the light became blinding.

The light was accompanied by the odd feeling of suddenly _not_ being, and then reforming.

When I was opened my eyes again, I found us in a forest clearing.

A... kinda familiar forest clearing. Huh. Why...?

"Wait, isn't this where we made camp after we busted Kairi and Natalia out?" Dark asked.

Ah. That was why.

And Myre was walking off. _Again_.

"And _now_ where are you going?" Selenia asked.

Myre paused. "If you're looking for someone to answer questions, I'm not him. He and his sister are waiting."

She then teleported away.

"Tch. Friendly woman."

I sighed. Count on Reighn...

Dark hummed. "Now what?"

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** If you don't know who Myre is and what she's doing by this point, your powers of observation are in need of some fine tuning. Kairi's 1 for 2 right now, and she's too tired to figure out the second one. She'll tell us that one next chapter though, don't worry._

 _Um... Yeah, nope. I'm done for this week. See you (hopefully) on Friday._


	10. Chapter 2-4 Part 10

_Whoo! Posting on time!_

 _So, finally got my artistic muse back, and instead of doing Ripples artwork like I wanted, I'm doing Darklight artwork. –is shot- Oh well._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

" _Dark. You killed my stress ball." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.4 – Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 10**

"I think that's everyone out of the city, now, at least," Natalia said. "Thank goodness... Grand Chokmah is so much larger than Engeve."

I nodded, but didn't really reply. I was more preoccupied with the child I was carrying... and the other three who were either clinging to my coat, or clinging to their sibling, who was clinging to my coat. "It may be everyone out of the city, but I've got four kids here who have no idea where their parents are."

"Funny. I've got two parents panicking because they can't find their daughter. You think one of your kids might be it?" Asch asked. Despite the almost teasing wording, he didn't sound amused at all.

"Nope. The two girls are siblings, and the two boys are, well, boys." Which meant we had another child running around who knew where.

"I've got another three children here who can't find their parents," Tear announced, walking over with a toddler on one hip and holding the hand of another. A third child was sticking close by.

I sighed. "Okay, new mission. Leave the majority of the population to the Malkuth Military. Asch, round up the other men, have them track down all the parents who can't find their children. Natalia, Tear, the other girls, and I will find the children who can't find their parents," I said. Asch nodded and walked off, as did Natalia a moment later, while Tear and I kept an eye on the seven children we'd found already.

It didn't take long for seven to become thirteen when Selenia and Anise joined us with the six they'd found, nor did thirteen stay thirteen when Cantabile stalked over with her own sizable group of eight. How she'd managed to keep track of _all_ of them, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I'd been having enough problems with just the four I'd started with.

By the time Guy came over with the first group of parents, we had a total of twenty-six children that Cantabile, Tear, and I were watching over.

That number continued to bounce up and down over the course of the next hour as Natalia and the other girls found more misplaced children and Asch and the other men came across other sets of concerned parents. I think the most we had to keep track of at one time was thirty-three, while the smallest number we had was six.

At the end of the day, we still had three children whose parents couldn't be found. Siblings, at that, though the eldest was about Selenia's age and was perfectly capable of taking care of his younger siblings, it appeared, though his sister was a few years younger and his brother only a newborn. Cantabile ushered the three along, apparently in the mood to be the motherly sort for a little while, though with all the grumbling and stalking she'd been doing earlier, it left me wondering what was going on in her head.

Still, with most of the children and parents reunited, and the last three under the watchful eyes of a God-General, I was free to relax slightly. And the manner in which I did this?

"Die, you stupid, half-chirpee, son-of-a—"

"Why do you always insult the chirpees so?" Dark asked, a White Lotus chakram flying out of nowhere to kill the wolf I'd been happily slaughtering. I kinda wilted.

"Dark. You killed my stress ball."

Dark chuckled. "Wasn't that the point?"

"Well, sort of... And the chirpees are annoying. So, since ligers don't like mandrakes and like using them for curses, I use chirpees."

Which may have sounded like rather wonky logic, but it made sense to me. It seemed to make sense to Dark, as well, since he didn't make any comments about it, instead just watched as I moved on to the next monster. We were part of the group setting up a sort-of perimeter around the large 'camp' the refugees had made.

Grand Chokmah wasn't safe. But then again, where was?

We didn't know. So for now, we were headed to the hidden Archives the Council had previously been guarding. Reighn had hinted at their existence previously, and Dark had confirmed them, so that was our tentative destination.

Then there was Myre's comment. _"If you're looking for someone to answer questions, I'm not him. He and his sister are waiting."_

Ryndor. Ryndor and Rhunön. Or at least, we were guessing. Right now, even Peony, who had all of his people to worry about, was willing to place his faith in a guess. Because really, what could we do but hope?

And maybe I shouldn't have been slaughtering monsters to try to calm down. It either wasn't working, or was just making me more irritable.

I sighed as another monster died. "What do we do when we don't have _any_ idea what we're facing?"

Dark shrugged. "Keep moving. And maybe stop and brainstorm a bit. Because, come on. We've got you, and Jade, and Reighn, and all sorts of brilliant people. You'd think we'd be able to figure _something_ out."

I sighed. Yeah. That was true. I looked up at the sky. Late afternoon... "We'll have to stop and make camp in about an hour. Let the Malkuth military deal with the refugees. Gather up the others. Everyone that went to Eldrant, Cantabile, Peony... Let me know if there's anyone missing," I said. Dark chuckled. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just can't help but find amusement in the fact that you went from confused nomad to God-General in less time than it took me to blink."

I rolled my eyes. "Smartass. Go. I've got the perimeter."

"Um..."

"Telepathic, remember?"

Dark nodded. "True. Just... remember to contact someone if you find yourself needing help, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Of course."

Dark turned and headed off back toward the main part of the mess, while I headed after every monster that tried to attack the line. The military had enough problems trying to keep the refugees corralled. They really didn't need the monsters to make things worse.

Which meant catching the monsters before they could cause problems was my job. And now that I was less worried about figuring things out immediately, I was doing a much better job of that.

Dark was right. I didn't have to do this alone, and I really did have to tell everyone what I knew, anyway.

That thought in mind, calming down became _damn_ easy. Because I trusted the others. They knew now, they understood, and even if some of them were skeptical... I could survive with that.

We'd been through hell together, and I knew we'd be facing even more of it—together.

So when the sun finally set, I headed toward where everyone had set up camp, feeling around for the oh-so familiar brush of Asch's mind. Because his was like a beacon now, one I recognized so easily...

I stepped into a loose circle and glanced around. It looked like everyone was here.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Reighn said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah? Missed you too, smartass."

Asch chuckled. "Now, now, let's not start fighting..." He sobered. "That's probably the last thing we can afford to do right now."

Jade adjusted his glasses and sighed. "And here I'd actually dared to hope that we wouldn't have to worry so much about this sort of a thing. I honestly hoped that Eldrant would be the worst of it." He shook his head. "Well, wishing things were different isn't going to fix anything, so we'll have to figure out what to do."

Dark hummed. "We're headed for the Hidden Archives... But I have to wonder. If Gnome can cause as much destruction as he did in Grand Chokmah with just an earthquake... what could he do to the Archives? They're underground."

"So we're walking straight into a trap," Reighn noted. I crossed my arms.

"I dunno... The Clans three thousand years ago had to have some reason for sealing Gnome and the other sentiences away, and as far as I know, the Archives were built before that. It's very possible that they could be protected by some sort of a barrier," I pointed out. "I know there were a hell of a lot of Energies down there, at least, and I don't think Natalia and I were even in the Archives themselves."

Dark shook his head. "No, but... how much good would Energies do against fonons?"

I shrugged. "Well, I was using Energies to control fonons for a while there before Lorelei decided it was an oh-so-brilliant idea to open my fonslots and give me a few memory problems while I was at it."

Which had most of the group frowning at me.

"Huh?"

I sighed. "Asch, Sync. That first time we were in Akzeriuth, on our way down to the passage ring when I was going to fix the Energy blockage in Sync's Core. Remember when I collapsed and then was having trouble remembering something I'd told you just a minute previously?"

They both still looked confused... Until Sync's eyes went wide. "Oh! Oh, you started complaining about seventh fonons not cooperating, too!"

I nodded. "Lorelei apparently decided he wanted to try to help us out... Though, given all the shit I've been through since then, I have to wonder why he bothered. Half the time I end up using the Energies anyway. It's the Energies that make my artes go off-color... Though we don't have a clue why my casting glyph ends up green regardless of Energy use."

"Well, thank you for that lovely bit of backstory, but at least now we know that there may be a barrier," Jade said. "With any luck, that will slow Gnome down long enough for us to figure... _something_... out. The Archives will have to be a temporary solution."

I nodded. "I think we should at least _try_ to ask Myre. She may not like us, but I'm fairly certain she's from some point in the future. They had to have figured out some sort of a safe haven, right?"

The others nodded. "Right," Guy agreed. "And until we can talk to her, we'll just have to make do... But I'm really not sure how long that will last. Luke... You said there was a lot of destruction, right?"

Luke nodded, and I snorted. "'A lot' is understating it. From what Doppel managed to see, it was... well. 'Hell on earth' comes to mind as an appropriate phrase."

Jade sighed. "Gnome... We know Ifrit is free, even before he decided to show up and ruin the rather lovely evening I'm sure _all_ of us were having. We need to figure out who else is freed already and if it's possible to stop one or two of the sentiences from being broken loose."

I smirked, because this was something I had an idea of already, and therefore would be able to help with.

"Rem is freed. Alvess, and therefore Sylph, should be in the Zao Desert somewhere, probably fairly close to the Zao Ruins. Myno and Undine out to be around Keterburg somewhere..." A thought struck me, and I frowned. "No... they couldn't be _there_ , could they...?"

"Kairi?" Dark prompted. I glanced over at Jade.

"You know where Nebillim's crag is, do you not?"

Jade look rather confused. "No. Or, rather, I don't think I'm quite sure what you're talking about."

"The Nebillim replica. She's sealed north of Mt. Roneal. That area is called Nebillim's Crag." Jade's eyes went wide. Right... he hadn't seemed to realize that that was where the replica was sealed in the game, so I suppose he didn't know this time.

"I... wasn't aware she was still alive..." he admitted.

Okay then. "Well, anyway... How much you wanna bet that's where Myno and Undine are?"

Everyone just kinda looked around for a bit. Anise was the one to break the silence.

"Um... Who the hell is Nebillim?"

Jade looked distinctly uncomfortable, and I sighed. "I can explain if you'd like," I offered.

He shook his head. "No. Nebillim was my mistake... So I may as well own up to it." Which had most of the others giving Jade an odd look. "Back... when we were still working on the replica theory... Well. It wasn't perfected yet. We weren't using Seventh fonons to bind the replica's body together. Saphir and I.. we used all six of the original fonons. And... you're all aware of my... disdain... of my status as a Seventh fonist?" Nods went around.

"As a child, I was fascinated with the seventh fonon. I was a master of the other six fonons already... And I made the mistake of trying to harness the seventh. Professor Nebillim walked in just as I lost control of the arte... It struck her, and set her house, where I'd been practicing, on fire. Saphir showed up in time to help me drag the professor out... but... She was dying. And with no other seventh fonist in the area, we saw no way to save her," Jade continued. He paused and bowed his head.

"Fomicry. You tried to make a replica." Asch didn't quite sound accusatory, but he also wasn't sympathetic.

Jade nodded. "Not 'tried'. We _did_ make a replica... but even by today's standards, she didn't turn out right. What we created... was a monster." Jade shook his head. "I... It started killing people, because it lacked fonons. I actually wasn't sure what had become of the replica... all I knew was that it was gone..." He shook his head again. "That was when Saphir and I redesigned the fomicry process, so that it used seventh fonons instead of the first six. At least then, the replica was stable... I gave up on trying to resurrect the professor a long time ago... I'm... not sure if Dist has given up yet or not."

I sighed. "Okay... Well, now that we know about that..."

Asch nodded. "What about Shadow? You said you had an idea where Undine and Sylph would be... I remember Luke saying something about Lorelei suggesting Shadow would be an ally..."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure... Most of the sephiroth are either extremely balanced, or extremely biased toward a single fonon. That's how I was able to figure out where Sylph and Undine would be. Despite being underground and in the desert... well, the Zao Ruins sephiroth is practically flooded by third fonons. Just another reason for me to hate that place, as if I didn't have enough already..." I stopped and shook my head. "Anyway, I have no clue where Shadow could be."

Guy frowned. "What... about Hod?"

I wanted to smack myself.

Of course. The last sephiroth, the one I hadn't bothered to think of, was Hod.

"Eldrant," I said aloud.

Noelle sighed. "Well, that's excellent... One problem. Both Albiores are currently in Sheridan. We all took ferries to Grand Chokmah."

I smirked anyways.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Ah, the foreshadowing in this chapter. Some of it's obvious. Some of it... less obvious._


	11. Chapter 2-5 Part 11

_So. Instead of doing anything with the Re:AST cover, I'm working on a proper cover for AEtT. Why? -puts on a convincing Jade smirk- That's quite simple, my friends. I'm going to use the cover to screw around with your minds.  
_

 _Okay, in all seriousness, in five days (I started Monday) I've managed to do the linearts for eight out of twenty-four (yes, you read that right, 8 of **24** ) characters, and Dark would be done already were it not for two things: 1) Luke's sketch layer and lineart layer somehow ended up merged, and by the time I'd noticed it, it was too late to undo and I had to manually clean it up. 2) Dark announced that the Kimlascan seal is on the back of his Avenger outfit (the one he got right before the Tower of Rem/fight in Chesedonia chapters) just like with his Princess' Bodyguard getup (the one he gets from Natalia in Baticul before they sneak into the factory). That damn emblem has been giving me hell._

 _On another note, I have abso-fragging-lutely no idea what two of the characters are wearing, and another four that I only have half an idea of. If they were all in the same group, I'd do that group last, but sadly, I've got one no-idea in Group 3 and another in Group 4, with the four half-ideas spread one to Group 1, one to Group 4, and two in Group 3. Hrg. Makes it difficult for me to figure out who I'm doing after I finish Group 1. Doesn't help that Flick's on the fence about whether she wants to be in her Fallen Apprentice or Fire Lady costume, and she's in Group 4. -tosses a pillow- Whatever. I'll get it figured out eventually._

 _On a less drawing-related note, yes, I'm updating on time. Aren't you all so proud? -is shot- Warning: this chapter contains Kairi's bizarroid-ness and brief mentions of nudity. (All in the name of comic relief, of course. Though, I guess I should tab the whole story with a warning about Kairi's bizarroid-ness... O.o)_

* * *

" _You forgot to mention that Dark picked up a clockwork guardian." –Kairi_

" _There is rather a difference between one and ten." –Lorelei & Asch_

" _Hey, Asch, Luke? Somebody want to dress our resident fonon sentience?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.5 – Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 11**

So... we'd worked most of it out. But that still left us with a hell of a lot of problems... and I had to wonder... "Luke. Asch. You two haven't heard anything from Lorelei, have you?

The two paused and looked at me kinda funny, before Luke shook his head. "No. We haven't. Or at least, _I_ haven't..." A glance at Asch was all I needed to know that Asch hadn't heard anything either.

That the two immediately closed their eyes told me they were likely going to try to contact Lorelei, now, because any help we could get was help that we'd have against Gnome.

A bright glow surrounded the two, and coalesced between them into the rough figure of a man.

"I can help you. In the future I saw... there was a man who fought beside Myre. And though he looked like Luke and Asch... I realized late that it was actually me. Though how that was managed... I am afraid I cannot see... It would appear, that the part of me that existed in Myre's time, has chosen to hide parts of the truth from me."

I frowned. "Which means you're going into this almost as blind as we are," I noted. Lorelei... I think he nodded.

Luke frowned. "But what can we do? If that was actually you..."

Asch looked at Luke, looked at me... Looked back at Luke, then at Guy, who was walking past...

I saw it, the moment the light bulb snapped on in his head. He had an idea. "The Isle of Feres!" he said quickly. "What if we did for Lorelei the same sort of thing you did for Fallon?"

I frowned and thought about it. "I'm not totally certain... I mean, to be honest, I'm not sure if Lorelei has an Energy Core for me to work with, but I suppose there's no harm in trying. We've got to go see at least. Any help we can get is going to be a miracle, I'm sure..." I stopped and sighed. "I'll go talk to Jade. I don't have a clue what the hell to do with that machinery... but we'll have to go get an Albiore or something to get there."

Lorelei chuckled. "Well actually, you might not... I saw the me in the future to something with Myre and I'd like to see if I can't figure it out. If I can, it will likely be possible for Asch and Luke to use it as well... You should go get your brother, because we need to get to Isle of Feres then... oh, and one of the pilots... or ... actually, I believe Noelle is the only one here... where is Ginji?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Possibly still in Sheridan... he did take quite the hit to the head on Eldrant and I don't think he should be flying too much until he's fully healed from that." Lorelei nodded, apparently seeing the wisdom in that. I ran off to find Noelle, which didn't take too long, and then tried to track down Jade. Though it seemed that the glow Lorelei was giving off had attracted his attention, so that left him, Asch, Luke, Noelle, and me to stand around Lorelei... with Asch and Luke closest, of course, given that they were apparently supporting Lorelei's existence right here.

That glow suddenly spread to engulf all five of us, and before I knew it, we were on the Isle of Feres in the mansion containing the fomicry machine.

I sighed. "Well. That was nice. Thanks for the warning. Now what the hell are we supposed to tell the others when we finally catch up and they're panicking?"

Lorelei looked _sheepish_. "Um..."

I rolled my eyes. "Jade, Luke, Asch, why don't you three figure out what we're going to do about Lorelei's body? I'm going to see if I can contact Sync or Dark." I stepped over to the side and laid down, taking a deep breath and then letting it out as I closed my eyes...

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _Hm. That was odd. This looked... an awful lot like the scenery to be found in Brother Bear 2. Which meant half-frozen wilderness. The light glinting off the snow and ice was almost blinding._

 _Almost. Not quite._

 _This wasn't my mindscape, but it couldn't have been Sync's._

 _Dark. I'd been looking for Dark, hadn't I?_

 _But that was just as confusing as the mindscape, because Dark couldn't have possibly thought to drop onto the third plane this quickly... could he...?_

 _And if he wasn't on the third plane, I shouldn't be able to access his mindscape._

 _Something hissed at me, and I glanced at the creature who'd made the sound._

 _I recognized it instantly. The clockwork fox I'd seen in the TimeStream just a couple days after the Monolith of Syal._

" _What are you doing here?" I asked it._

 _It hissed at me again._

 _Something about the mindscape seemed to shift, become more... solid._

" _Kairi?"_

 _I glanced back. Dark. Dark was here now. But he hadn't been a moment ago, so why—oh._

" _Clockwork creatures blur the lines between the planes..." I murmured. Nanalie's ability to summon Koga so quickly, so effortlessly, regardless of where she was, was proof of that. Which meant..._

 _I looked down at the fox, who was still bristling. "I'm sorry, little guardian. I didn't mean to intrude."_

 _The fox hissed and spat at me._

" _Eraia says she's not the one you should be apologizing to," Dark said. "I don't really mind though, so long as you're not poking around too much. You understand mindscapes better than I do."_

 _Eraia seemed to calm down as Dark growled at her, apparently explaining that I was a friend. That's what it sounded like to me, though my knowledge for the liger language was patchy and rough, at best._

 _I had to guess, because my telepathy didn't work on this plane._

 _Dark looked up at me again. "So, why the running around in my mind?"_

 _I snorted. "Lorelei got the brilliant idea of teleporting me, Jade, Noelle, Asch, and Luke to the Isle of Feres. And did so before we could tell anyone where we were going."_

 _Dark looked exasperated. "Well. At least now we know Asch and Luke got more than Lorelei's hyperresonance."_

 _I couldn't help it. I snickered._

 _Then something hit me._

 _Hyperresonance._

 _That was how Lorelei had gotten us to the Isle of Feres. That was what he wanted Luke and Asch to figure out. Teleporting by hyperresonance._

 _Which would be nice, if those two could figure it out._

" _Hey, earth to Kairi! Or, well... Mindscape to Kairi?"_

 _I snorted and gestured to the landscape around us. "Reminds me of Alaska. Might as well be Earth."_

 _Which had Dark rolling his eyes. "Funny. What had you distracted?"_

 _I sighed. "I'll tell you later. Hopefully after Asch and Luke figure out what Lorelei's wanting to teach them. Well... at least now you know where we disappeared to."_

" _Yeah. I'll let the others know. You should probably get back."_

 _I nodded. "Yeah. And I'll explain something about why Eraia was about ready to attack me earlier once I can explain it to everyone."_

 _Dark nodded and disappeared, and I felt the mindscape lose some of its vibrancy._

 _Eraia hissed at me, and I smiled. "You'll help take care of him for me, right?" I asked._

 _Her ear perked up, and the hostility faded just a bit again._

 _I giggled. Cute little clockwork fox..._

 _I closed my eyes. Time to go check on the redheads..._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

The moment my eyes opened, I noted that I had a very familiar, very furry face right over mine.

I growled a 'good morning.'

Twilight sat back on his haunches and tilted his head to the side before growling a 'good afternoon' back.

Huh. Guess it was.

"So, how did that go?" Asch asked. I hummed and sat up.

"You forgot to mention that Dark picked up a clockwork guardian."

Four very baffled faces turned toward me, and I'm pretty sure Lorelei looked baffled, too.

"Clockwork guardian?" Jade asked.

I nodded, absently scratching behind Twilight's ear as I did. "Clockwork fox. I saw it in the TimeStream before I left... Did he pick her up then, or later?"

Asch crossed his arms. "Then. Eraia led us back to Dark's mindscape, actually, since we weren't sure how to get back. But... why does it matter that Dark picked up a... clockwork guardian?"

I sighed. "Because. Eraia's presence means his mindscape is open. I was able to enter it even though he wasn't there. She about attacked me, too. If Dark hadn't shown up when he did, I'd have one _hell_ of a headache right now."

Luke gave me such a confused look. "So... is Eraia being in Dark's mindscape a good thing or a bad thing...?"

I shrugged. "That will depend entirely on how well those two end up bonding. Clockwork creatures blur every line between planes. She'll make a _very_ useful ally, I'm sure... I'll explain a bit more on CCs later," I said, brushing off my skirt and coat and standing up.

Jade nodded. "Yes. It's probably best that you come over here. You know what you did with Fallon, so theoretically, you'd have the best idea for what to do here. We've already got the replica data."

I blinked and frowned at Asch and Luke both.

"I've already healed the damage," Lorelei said. I nodded.

"Good... Though how exactly this is supposed to work when I'm fairly certain you don't have a..." I cut off as I slipped onto the second plane, because... yes, those were... "Huh. Would you look at that..."

And if the redhead in the future Lorelei had shown Luke really was _him_... Ah...

"Interesting..."

"Auldrant to Kairi. Stop trailing off in the middle of sentences please," Luke deadpanned.

I couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Sorry."

Jade sighed. "Care to share with the class?"

I smiled. "Let's get Lorelei into a physical body, and _then_ I'll answer that," I decided. Which had Jade looking curious.

"You went from skeptical to confident pretty damn fast," Asch noted. I nodded and stepped over to the fomicry machine, even as Jade started it up.

That the mass of seventh fonons that was Lorelei ended up getting drawn in automatically wasn't much of a surprise.

The replica looking _exactly_ like Luke and Asch would be a pain in the ass... Now then, reach out, drag that into connection with this, see if we can't integrate that one with these seventh fonons as well...

The majority of the seventh fonons dispersed, but even glancing back and forth between the replica next to me and the one next to Asch, I could see the difference in seventh fonon levels. Luke had just enough to keep his body together.

Lorelei's body overflowed with them.

Green eyes blinked open. "What did you just do?"

I smirked. "Ah. Felt that did you?"

"Felt what?" Asch asked. I shrugged.

"Remember how spirit Energies work? At least one per living being, and that one Energy binds spirit to body through sun and moon Energies." Asch nodded. This was nothing new for him, though Jade, Noelle, Luke, and Lorelei looked confused. "Take a look at his Energy Core, Asch."

Asch wasn't as good at walking on two planes at once, but he could do it. And did do it.

And given how wide his eyes had gone, he realized what I'd seen.

"Eight spirit Energies?"

I snickered. "For a bit of irony, he _had_ seven before I kinda shoved the eighth that was trying to latch onto the newly-built replica into alignment with the rest of them."

Two facepalms, Jade was pinching the bridge of his nose, and Noelle and Lorelei looked so lost that I almost felt sorry for them.

"So, wait... I'm confused," Luke piped up. "You thought you couldn't do it because... why?"

I shrugged. "No Energy Core. No physical body means nothing for a spirit Energy to latch onto. With no spirit Energy to root a consciousness to a body, I really wasn't sure if we could pull this off."

Lorelei looked up at me. "But... You and Asch just said..."

I gave him a sheepish look. "I wasn't exactly looking on the second plane until just few minutes ago. My _guess_ is, one spirit Energy managed to drag itself through a few seventh fonons, enough to start collecting up more seventh fonons. Like attracts like, after all... I'm not totally certain, of course... Quite frankly, you're not human, and how _exactly_ you came into being is a few _thousand_ years beyond me. But I think I can safely say that the other six sentiences will have a spirit Energy or ten dragging along with them, as well."

"There is rather a difference between one and ten," Lorelei and Asch pointed out in tandem. I shrugged and started looking around.

"Hey, you're supposed to be the baby of the group, right? Any one of the other sentiences is probably dragging around more spirit Energies than can be found in this room current—mine!"

Up here, reach, and... "Gotcha!"

"How the hell did you just get up there?"

I glanced down at Asch, frowned at the second-floor balcony that was a good three feet below my shoes, and then glanced at the high window I was dangling from.

"Um... I'm not totally sure..."

Jade chuckled. "How much coffee did you manage to get into while we weren't looking?"

"None." Which was why I was so confused. Because I usually only did weird shit like this while under the influence of copious amounts of caffeine.

"Ah... That might be my fault. Your body reacts... _poorly_... to seventh fonons," Lorelei said.

"Eh... heh. Okay. Great. Now, uh..." Push away from the wall a bit, let go, land... I leaned over the railing and blinked down at where Lorelei was still sitting on the fomicry machine... butt naked. I pointedly glanced away again, seeing as how I'd been able to avoid looking anywhere... inappropriate... while standing right next to him. "Hey, Asch, Luke? Somebody want to dress our resident fonon sentience?"

Noelle squeaked, apparently having not noticed that Lorelei was naked yet between my explanation and... er... act of... oddity.

What followed was a rather amusing round of 'get the sentience dressed quickly' that was apparently as amusing to Jade as it was to me. Still, by the time they were done, we had Luke, wearing his white, red, and silver answer to Asch's new favorite black coat, which of course Asch was currently wearing, and Lorelei in... Huh.

You know what Luke shows up wearing in the very end scene of Tales of the Abyss, after the credits? Yeah.

Which, unfortunately, meant we had Asch in black, and two _identical redheads in WHITE coats_.

That was... problematic.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Seventh fonons_ really _don't like Kairi. Lorelei will tell us why around the same time we see Kade again. (Yes, the Sword Dancer is going to make some more appearances.)_

 _Yes, Kairi tends to space out sometimes. Why she couldn't look and see if Lorelei had an Energy Core (or in this case, a set of Spirit Energies) earlier... She's a dork._

 _On another note, for those of you who care (looking at you, RKamelot, because I know you've asked in the past), this now brings Kairi up to eleven Spirit Energies._


	12. Chapter 2-6 Part 12

_Yeah, I realize I'm a week behind. So sue me. (Actually don't, I don't have any money.)_

 _I basically spaced out last week and then kicked my butt back into gear to work on the cover. Currently at 20/24 linearts complete. (And I'm hoping to finish the last four tomorrow, now that I've finally gotten outfits figured out and sketches started.) I appear to be well on my way to finishing before the June 17 update, so it'll be going up around the same time. Warning: Parts 14 & 15 (the first two chapters of Chapter 3) will be put up as a double-update._

 _To apologize for my lateness, I hereby present you all with a treat: TWO updates. -grins- Happier? Or still irritated 'cause this means no update next week...? Sorry? Oh well, moving on...  
_

 _Um... Nope. Can't think of anything else... Oh well._

 _Enjoy the double-update!_

* * *

 _"Rem hates everyone. Don't take it personally." -Shadow  
_

 _"With Gnome on the warpath, there's nowhere on the ground that's safe... oh._ Duh _." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.6 - Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 12**

* * *

The moment I brought the 'identical redheads in white coats' problem up, Luke started glancing around, eyes finally settling on me. "You keep one of Sync's knives on you all the time, don't you?"

I went stiff with shock. Was he going to...? So long after Akzeriuth?

Ah, but Akzeriuth had been the turning point for him in the game. The turning point here... it was so much more subtle.

"We both keep one on hand," Asch said, realizing that I wasn't going to answer. "Why?"

Luke held out a hand, silently asking for it, and Asch just kind of frowned at him.

I jumped over the railing and landed easily, walking over to the two of them.

Luke cut his hair in the game to signify a change in himself.

But this change had happened gradually, over a few months. So this... was less a matter of deciding to change, and choosing to show that it had happened.

I held out my knife without hesitation, and Luke blinked at me and smiled. "Thanks."

Asch gave me a confused look, then glanced at Luke. His eyes went wide when Luke pulled all of his hair back and cut it off at the base of his neck, just like he had in the game.

"Luke, you didn't have to cut your hair off!" Noelle yelled. Luke shook his head, and I giggled a bit and fixed that bit of hair that was trying to lay weird.

"It's alright. I'd been considering cutting it for a while. And at least now we'll always know which of the three of us is me."

Jade sighed. "Well, I do suppose that's one way to do it." He turned and tapped a few things on the fomicry machine. "There. That should be the end of that. So... Where to next?"

Lorelei, who'd been working out how to walk, stopped, looked over at us, and came over, managing not to stumble too much. "Sheridan. We will need the Albiores."

"Wait, what about what Luke said you showed him?" Noelle piped up. "I thought he said Sheridan was completely gone."

I nodded. "Right. The cliff collapsed into the sea. And Gnome, the sentience most likely responsible, is on the loose... It may be best to evacuate them, have them head back toward the Meggiora Highlands. Or maybe the port. Some of those warehouses are empty; they can be converted into temporary shelters."

Lorelei hummed. "It will be a while before Gnome can focus on destroying the cities, though. He is more focused on freeing the rest of our siblings first. Though getting to Sylph is turning out to be more of a pain than he expected and he _cannot_ reach Undine right now."

"Aw, crap. Don't tell me Undine and Myno are inside that seal _with_ the Nebillim replica?"

Lorelei gave me what had to be the cutest, most baffled look I'd ever seen. It took a lot of self-control not to just call him 'adorable' then and there. "Um... I... guess...?" He frowned. "Sorry. I am trying to get timelines straightened out in my head. I do know that Undine was... is... um... the last one freed."

I nodded. "So it's very possible the seal holding the Nebillim replica in place is complicating things for him. Good. Anything to give us a little more time."

Lorelei sighed. "Well, we already have something Myre did not."

"Oh?" Jade prompted.

The sentience pointed at me. "Kairi. From what I can tell, Kairi landing in the destruction of Phaïe's monolith is what has rent the timeline."

"Because of whatever stopped me from reaching the TimeStream," Asch realized. "If you had come back when you'd planned..."

"I wouldn't have been able to come back at all," I finished. And... "Rem. That barrier. It's hers, isn't it?" Huh... and why were those fonons—oh...

Lorelei shrugged. "I am not certain. Rem hates me."

"Rem hates everyone. Don't take it personally."

I think everyone _except_ me jumped.

Shadow didn't look all that impressed... then again, I could barely see any sort of expression on that... not-really-there face. Though, perhaps that was more due to the fact that he probably wasn't making much of an expression.

I shook that thought off and crossed my arms. "Hello. How are you?"

Shadow hesitated and stared at me for a good few moments.

"Free."

Asch snorted. "Yeah. We kinda guessed that much. Okay, Kairi's terrible humor aside... do I want to know what you're doing here?"

"Just a word of warning... Rem is _not_ pleased... if I were you, I'd try to avoid letting her know Kairi is here. She suspects, but she's not certain yet, and so long as she's not certain, she won't be a threat. Well... Not much of one at least," Shadow said.

I hummed. "Then we'll have to set her aside to be dealt with at a later date. For now, I think our greatest concern would be finding someplace to evacuate the majority of the population to. With Gnome on the warpath, there's nowhere on the ground that's safe... oh. _Duh_."

"Kairi? Care to help the rest of us keep up with you?" Luke suggested. I gave him an unimpressed look.

"Eldrant. It's still sucking up insane amounts of fonons. And weren't you all going to turn the fomicry machines off?"

Lorelei shrugged. "Well... not so much insane, as just a high amount... but you are correct, it is still being replicated. It does not actually bother me so much as I thought it would though..."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not the point. The point is, Eldrant is still expanding. And it's in the air. Gnome wouldn't be able to get to us."

"What about the earth it's made up of, though?" Noelle asked.

Shadow chuckled. "The seventh fonons are holding it together. He'd have to fight past Lorelei to get to it and I think we've already seen who's side Lorelei is on."

I snorted. "Rather obvious, yes. Now then...Weren't we going to go to Sheridan to get the Albiores? Or one of them, at least?"

Lorelei chuckled sheepishly. "Right..."

Shadow stepped back. "I'll let you all go do that then. I'm going my own way."

He then disappeared, and I shrugged. Well, if he didn't want to come, that's his problem. I for one was going to brace myself, because traveling by hyperresonance was not fun, at all.

Lorelei didn't even say anything, just reached out and enveloped all of us in light, and the next thing I knew, we were right outside Sheridan.

Lorelei smiled. "Oh good... that did exactly what I was hoping it would... so... where are the Albiores again?"

Noelle led the way, and we stopped in at the meeting hall. Looked like Henken and Cathy had finally gone home... but Iemon, Tamara and Aston were I here, so after telling them to have everyone head for the Meggiora Highlands, we headed off to the warehouse the Albiores were being kept in. Ginji was looking over the Albiore III, it looked like, though from the bandages around his head, he wouldn't be flying any time soon.

He turned as we walked in and smiled.

"Hey, heading out any time soon?" he asked. "Gramps is getting really crazy... Well, he's driving me crazy at least."

Noelle frowned. "Ginji, you shouldn't be flying."

Ginji sighed. "I know, but... can't I come with you guys? I mean, you can fly, can't you Noelle? Please, I just want to get out of here for a bit."

I glanced at the others. "It may be best if you stay here. Someone is going to have to fly the other Albiore to us later, right?"

Lorelei hummed and held up a hand. "Um..."

I shook my head. "Uh, uh, no. head wound, kiddo. You're not healing that. I did the best I could, before we left to go deal with the God-Generals at Eldrant, but he's as healed as we can force it. He just needs to let it do its own thing for now."

Ginji blinked at me. "What about you? You're pretty good with stuff like this. Can't you fly the second Albiore if we need it? I know I shouldn't be flying for a couple weeks yet, but..."

I sighed. "Well... maybe? The reason why I can deal with the Dawn Age equipment so easily is because most of it is computer stuff. This is... well. Sorry. I never learned how to fly an airplane, and even if I had, given how advanced our tech is, I'd be having trouble anyway."

Noelle sighed. "It's not that hard, and you're better at sitting half on the second plane than Asch is. Either of you could probably use that to give you a better feel for some of the stuff that Ginji and I have to pick up by intuition."

I sighed and gave Asch a look. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I?"

He chuckled. "No. Sorry. I'd do it, but Lorelei's already said he wants to drag me and Luke around for a while until we figure out the trick to teleporting via hyperresonance."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea... Alright, alright... Ginji, you and me in the Albiore III. Noelle, you can take Jade. I figure, at least that way we're keeping you away from me. I'd hate to see how badly you could distract me."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "I'd say have fun, but..." He shrugged and left it there.

Ginji smiled and headed onto the Albiore III, and I followed him with rather obvious reluctance. Guy. They'd have to teach Guy how to pilot these things. Guy liked this stuff...

Once Ginji got me into the pilot's seat and told me what everything was, the harder part came. Noelle took off while Ginji explained how the Albiore flew, what that little dial over there did and how to control acceleration, since the main control stick was left-right-up-down only.

It was... really very simple.

"The hardest part," he admitted, "is always trying to figure out how the wind is going to affect you in the air. So... first thing's first. Let's get up in the air and over the ocean. The Albiore III is built with safety features in the case of an aquatic crash landing, so you always want to try to put her in the water if you're going down," Ginji said.

I nodded and started up the engines, watching the different gauges related to the fuel and engines until Ginji said I was good to go. Then, it was a simple matter of pulling back on the control stick.

Up... Once we were clear of the hangar, I angled us out over the water, and Ginji had me bring her up a little more so I could start experimenting. How much the Albiore tilted to each side as I moved the control stick, how quickly she accelerated, which was _that_ lever over there...

Once I'd been in the air for almost an hour, I started to relax. Experimenting was less trying to get used to the controls, and more 'how does the Albiore react to _that_ wind'. Because I was definitely _not_ playing around on the second plane. Really. I'd slipped fully onto the first about ten minutes into the flight, and seeing the wind patterns wasn't as easy, but it was... _interesting_.

Ginji chuckled as we finally found land again, which, from the looks of it, was Tataroo Valley. Oh, whoops. We were taking the long route. Oh well. We'd catch up to the others eventually, and he didn't seem to mind at all. I certainly didn't, now that I was actually in the air. Much like I loved just _driving_ , once I'd gotten used to it.

"See? And you were complaining about the fact that you didn't know what you were doing. You're a natural! I don't think Noelle took to the air as easily as you did."

I smiled. "Well, I gotta say one thing. If Noelle loves this as much as I do, I can see why she's never complaining about flying all the time... Damn. It's getting late... I don't think I want to try flying at night, even if I move onto the second plane..."

Ginji nodded. "Good point... Hey, is that the Isle of Feres?"

I chuckled. "Well. Looks like we're stopping by there, _again_. Not like it's the first time I've been there today."

Ginji looked amused. "I'm guessing this has to do with what Asch and Luke were saying about teleporting...? That third guy looked just like them."

I snorted. "That was Lorelei."

Ginji looked surprised. "Lorelei? As in, the congregate sentience of the seven fonon, Lorelei?"

I nodded and angled the Albiore down toward the Isle of Feres. Now where...? Noelle and Ginji usually landed in one of two spots, so... Ah-ha! There, and there! Hm... that one was larger, but that one was closer to the mansion...

"You should probably aim for the one on the edge," Ginji said. "And watch your speed coming in. You figured out how to hover about an hour back, and that's sort of what you want to do here... but since the Isle of Feres is moving, you don't want to hover in one spot too long, or your landing space will be gone by the time you try to land."

I nodded. "Noted. Anyway, when we were here earlier... Well, you know what I did with Fallon? We did basically the same thing for Lorelei." Okay... over here... down... and slow it down...

Landing was going to be the hard part. That much was obvious.

Getting the Albiore in the air and keeping it in the air was easy. Landing? Not so much.

Ginji murmured corrections as I brought us down, and though the landing was a bit rougher than I'd intended, it wasn't as rough as it could have been.

Which was excellent, because I'd have to do it again when we went after the others... who were going to be in a forest.

So if I couldn't find a clearing large enough for the Albiore, we'd have to land outside the forest and make what could possibly turn into a multi-day trek.

Great. Just great.

I considered heading off the Albiore to poke around a bit, but I realized the moment I stood up that I was tired. The stress of flying for the first time and the worry that I'd crash us must have been more draining than I'd expected.

So I headed back into one of the cabins and settled down for some rest.

Except... I didn't quite go straight to sleep.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _This wasn't my mindscape. Or Dark's..._

 _Mountains, and clouds._

 _Sync._

" _Ah, there you are."_

 _I turned and blinked at Sync. "Yes...?"_

" _Noelle and Jade landed an hour ago."_

 _I blinked, then laughed sheepishly. "Ah... we're coming the long way around. Ginji told me to fly over the water, so... East it was. We're at the Isle of Feres right now..."_

 _Sync sighed at me. "You're hopeless. Completely hopeless."_

 _I giggled. "Love you too, little brother."_

 _Sync just grinned back._

* * *

 ** _Fun_ _Fact:_** _When I originally outlined this story, I'd forgotten that I'd given Ginji a concussion back at Eldrant. So no, he really shouldn't be flying just yet. So for Chapter 3, Kairi will be taking over flying the Albiore III, and then Guy will take over in Chapter 4. Because as much as Kairi might enjoy flying the Albiore, she really does have other things she needs to do._

 _Note that she mentions liking to just drive... I love the drives to and from work. I really do. Depending on the season and which route I take, the scenery can be really pretty, and there aren't too many complete idiots on the roads most days. It's nice, and there are days I just want to keep going instead of turning off at Exit 82 after a day at work. And this is something that Kairi's picked up... but since there aren't any cars in Tales of the Abyss, she just has to settle for an Albiore... Which is a major part of the reason why she foists piloting off to Guy as soon as possible-she kinda wants to make sure they get where they're going! XD_


	13. Chapter 2-7 Part 13

_Here's update #2, and the end of Chapter 2! Enjoy, and I'll see you all again on the 17th with the new cover!_

* * *

 _"Kairi. Please stop trailing off mid-thought." -Jade_

 _"You've been carrying that around for months?!" -Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.7 - Expected Unexpected Delays  
Part 13**

I wasn't sure how far the citizens of Grand Chokmah had gotten, but Sync had said that Noelle and Jade had been able to land just outside their camp last night, so with any luck, we'd be able to find them and land nearby ourselves.

The Albiore II sitting out in the middle of nowhere, with dozens of little fires not far from it, was a rather obvious indication that I'd found them.

I brought the Albiore III down next to its older, lighter-colored cousin and powered it down, Ginji barely making it to the hatch before Noelle came racing up the ramp.

"You're okay!"

I snorted. "Ye of little faith... Yes, we're alive. And as fun as that was, I'm handing over piloting duties to Ginji as soon as possible."

Ginji chuckled. "I'm not sure whether to say 'thanks' or 'smart-ass'."

I grinned. "How about 'Thanks, smart-ass'?"

He shook his head. "Set myself up for that one, didn't I?"

"Yeah, probably. You guys didn't happen to run into Asch or Luke on your way back, did you?" Sync asked as he walked up. I shook my head.

"No. Then again, as high as we were, we'd have been doing good to see anyone at all. Especially with some of the fog we had to contend with this morning," I replied. "Why? Can you not find Asch on the third plane?"

Sync shrugged. "Haven't been trying all that hard. I'm just a little bit worried. Hyperresonance is unstable at best, and... well. We all know what happened to Akzeriuth."

I nodded. "Yes, but this is Lorelei we're talking about. If anyone can figure out how that works and teach it to those two, it's him... Dorkus majoris he may be otherwise."

Noelle turned a nice shade of pink, and Ginji frowned. "Do I want to know?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Probably not. So, Asch and Luke aren't here yet... That means we need to go figure out what to do in the mean..."

I paused, because what was with that blasted—oh. I know this sort of headache. "Incoming."

The others looked baffled for a few moments, before a large light blinded most of us temporarily.

Asch and Luke were left standing there, Asch outright scowling and Luke looking baffled. "I don't get it," Luke started. "It's _that_ easy, and yet..."

Asch _growled_ , and I chuckled. Well... No need to tell him what that particular growl usually meant... Really.

"Having fun, boys?"

"Yes/No."

Noelle giggled. "At least one of you is having fun, right?"

Asch's scowl told me just what he thought about Luke's idea of 'fun'.

I sighed, exasperated with those two. I wasn't sure I wanted to know why they never seemed to be capable of getting along, but at least I knew not to get in between them.

Though, dragging Asch away by one arm usually worked. Just like it worked this time.

And once I'd dragged him away, I poked him. "What's wrong?"

He frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

I crossed my arms. "You usually only scowl like that when you find out something you really, _really_ don't like. I thought we'd already worked out that you and Luke aren't going to be as good at everything as the other is."

Asch grimaced. "That's not..." He paused and sighed. "Remember... Aramis Spring?"

I nodded, then winced. "Oh."

"Yeah. When it's Lorelei or Luke or even that one that blasted us from here to the Meggiora Highlands, it doesn't bother me so much. But... Doing it myself... Breaking my own body apart..." Asch stopped and shook his head, hugging his chest like he would if he was cold.

"You're scared your soul is going to be left with nothing to latch onto," I finished when it looked like Asch wouldn't.

He looked up at me and nodded. "Yeah. I still have nightmares about that once in a while... You know it felt like I'd been dunked into freezing cold water? And then you grabbed me, and..."

I stepped forward and hugged him. "It's okay, Asch. I'm here... And you'll be okay. I don't think you can set your soul loose like that if you're using that type of hyperresonance. I think it was the Energy Circle part of ours that caused that... after all, it's the same sort of thing that Myre uses... mixing Energy Circles and hyperresonances may not be wise..."

Asch chuckled. "This, from the woman who mixes Energies and fonons on a daily basis."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Then I dragged him over to the camp fires, because we needed to talk, again.

Lorelei was on the playing field in a human body... okay, a replica body. It was human enough.

And Asch and Luke had both been taught to teleport via hyperresonance, though it looked like Asch didn't like it. But that was okay, too.

We needed to talk.

Once everyone was back together, I crossed my arms. "Okay. We've got problems cropping up all over the place, two Albiores, and... well, I don't think I can say Asch has Lorelei's teleporting-by-hyperresonance thing down yet. But Luke seems to. So we've got transportation. We _can_ split up if we have to."

Jade hummed. "I'm interested in the passage rings. You haven't been able to get a _good_ look at them since, well. A while. Since coming back, at least, I don't think."

"But what about the citizens of Grand Chokmah? We can't just leave them. The Malkuth military is spread thin enough trying to keep all of these people safe. If all of us leave..." Tear started.

Reighn raised a hand. "I'd also like to see if we can't maybe beat Gnome to one of the monoliths."

I hummed. "Reighn raises a good point. Though I'm a bit worried about trying to get to a monolith... if Gnome shows up... Well. I think we've already seen how effective _we_ are against the sentiences. Myre at least knows something, but until we can pin her down and get answers, we don't," I pointed out. "That said, if I'm right, there's a monolith in the Zao Desert. There's also a passage ring. I _hate_ the Zao Ruins, but if that's the only one we can get to with four sentiences freed and Myno's monolith out of reach... Oh. Fuck."

"Kairi. Please stop trailing off mid-thought."

"Myre. She took Lost Celesti from the palace in Grand Chokmah. And she said she had to deal with _Jade's mistake_. Which means she's after Myno and Undine already," I said. "I was right—Myno's monolith is inside the seal with the Nebillim replica."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "I hate to actually say this, but 'fuck' is an appropriate summary of that situation."

I snorted. "Great. Okay, so we've got Myre going after Myno and Undine. Reighn, you said you wanted to beat Gnome to a monolith... Again, Alvess and Sylph will be our best bet. You and I will go in the Albiore III. I think we should leave the Albiore II here. Noelle helped evacuate citizens before."

Natalia stepped forward after exchanging a look with Dark, and I sighed. Now what...?

"I want to go back to Grand Chokmah. Ifrit seemed like he was fighting just for the thrill of the fight. I'd like to see if maybe he can't be reasoned with," Natalia said. I crossed one arm over my chest, propped the other elbow on my wrist, and pinched the bridge of my nose in a futile attempt at warding off a headache.

Then again...

They were right. Ifrit hadn't looked like he really meant malice. He was just... out to cause chaos.

"Fire is chaos," I murmured. "Which means that Natalia might be right."

"Uh, crazy demon creature that tried to kill you?!" Asch said. I shook my head.

"I was attacking him with a shard of the very thing that was used to seal him away. I wouldn't be pleased with me either. And fire is chaos. Ifrit's actions weren't fueled by malice. He was just out to have a little fun... Okay, maybe not _safe_ fun given that most of us aren't fireproof, but that's beside the point. He's immortal. They don't look at the world the same way we do," I said.

And I got a lot of weird looks for that. "What's that supposed to mean?" Luke asked.

I sighed. "Think about a little. If you live forever, never having even a chance of dying... You either have to learn to not get _too_ attached to people who are only going to live for what feels like the blink of an eye, or you'll have to isolate yourself. Ifrit's just not quite sure what to do with humans. We're breakable."

Everyone stared at me for a few minutes before Dark sighed. "Then we really do need to see if we can talk to him. There's a chance we might be able to get him on our side... or at least out of the main conflict."

Jade nodded. "So... We seem to have four groups... who's going where, and with whom?""

I frowned. "I'm heading up the passage ring team... Reighn, you wanted to go to the monolith... Natalia, you're another one of our main healers, and you're going to see if you can talk to Ifrit, right? And Tear, you're staying here I'm guessing." Tear nodded.

Rialle stepped forward. "Reighn, Tear, and Natalia are healers... you'll need a healer for your group, too. Can I come with you?" she asked. I nodded.

"Sure. So..."

Reighn hummed. "Four groups... looks like there's seventeen of us here."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Kairi, Dark, Solace, and Flick have similar skill sets... Dark will obviously be going with Natalia... so Flick, Solace? Who's going with Reighn and who's staying here?"

Solace hummed and looked over at Tear. "Do you mind if I come with you? You're technically my older sister, and we haven't gotten to work together much."

Tear smiled. "That's fine with me.

Reighn sighed. "So we're leaving Flick with me. That's nice."

I giggled. "So... what's next? Melee, or fonists?"

Jade hummed. "Selenia, Seth, Anise, and I would count as fonists, I suppose..."

Anise jumped over to Reighn, making it obvious whose team she wanted to be on. I snorted. "Well, Anise is going with Reighn... Hm. We should probably leave you with Tear, Jade. You may avoid using that ability when you can, but you _are_ a seventh fonist now. So either you or Seth needs to go with her. I'll take Selenia, the other non-seventh fonist, with me," I said. When she frowned at me for this, I shrugged. "Well, Natalia and Dark are going to try to negotiate with something that's already attacked us once. I'd rather they be able to take another seventh fonist with them as well."

Which Selenia acknowledged with a nod. Guy hummed. "Do you mind if I come with you as the melee fighter? I've actually been meaning to pick your brain about the passage rings since... well, Akzeriuth."

I nodded. "Alright, so we've got my team figured out..." I glanced at Reighn. Reighn, Anise, Flick... none of them close-range melee fighters, but they all had pretty good stamina, and they'd be out in the desert, so... "Luke, why don't you go with Reighn? Since they'll be running around in the desert, they'll need your stamina."

Luke nodded and stepped over next to Reighn, and I noted the distinct groups forming. Dark and Natalia, and Tear and Solace, with Jade, Seth, Cantabile, Asch, and Sync still standing around a bit.

Sync frowned and walked over to Natalia and Dark. "I'm coming with you two. If I have to deal with tracking down missing children for much longer, I'm going to go crazy."

Asch scowled at him.

"Asch, you should probably go with Tear, anyway. The refugees could use all the seventh fonists they can get," I added.

Which had him slumping and walking over to join her. Which just left Jade and Seth.

Jade walked over to Tear. "I might as well stay here. I've been helping to coordinate the military's efforts. If we're going to split off later, I should get things structured so my men know where to go to for orders while I'm running around," he said. Seth nodded and joined Natalia, Dark, and Sync, and this just left Cantabile standing around.

She frowned at all of us, then frowned back in the direction of the refugees.

Then, without a word, she headed off toward them.

"Well, looks like Mom's planning on staying here," Sync noted.

I nodded. "Okay... So, let's recap real quick, just to make sure everyone's clear on who's going where and doing what. Tear, Asch, Jade, and Solace are staying here with Cantabile to keep the refugees going. You're headed for the Hidden Archives. From the way Myre worded it, Ryndor and Rhunön will likely be able to give you information once you arrive, so see what you can find out while you're at it." The four of them nodded, and Natalia stepped up.

"Dark, Sync, Seth, and I are going to Grand Chokmah to try to find Ifrit, see if we can't get him to at least let up on attacking us, if not change sides," she said. She paused and glanced at the pilot siblings. "Is it okay if we take one of the Albiores with us?"

I nodded. "Yes. You'll probably need it if Gnome tries to crash the party. Take Noelle—I'll stay with Ginji, since he's not supposed to by flying yet, and see if we can't maybe teach Guy to fly the Albiores as well. My group and Reighn's are headed in the same direction, so we'll all go together on the Albiore III."

"Where are we going to land?" Reighn asked. "Because we may need to land north of Chesedonia and trek southward through the desert separately."

Ginji winced. "If the flightstone were more efficient, we might be able to land in the desert so long as there isn't a sandstorm, but..."

I frowned. I'd picked up that one flightstone north of Mushroom Road, hadn't I...?

I started digging through my wing pack, and pulled it out. "Um. Would this work?"

Ginji and Noelle outright stared at me.

"Where did you get that?!"

I giggled. "North of here, after the ligers headed over the ice bridges on the way to Grand Chokmah."

Dark facepalmed. "You've been carrying that around for _months_?!"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

Asch chuckled. "Well, that simplifies things, I guess. Still... Once you're in the desert, Kairi, Guy, Selenia, and Rialle will head for the Zao Ruins while Reighn, Luke, Flick, and Anise try to find Alvess' monolith. Did we miss anything?"

I shook my head. "Don't think so. Alright. Let's get some rest and leave first thing in the morning."

The others nodded, and we all split up.

Rest.

Then we'd part ways.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Those four parties have been set up since Eldrant, almost. Yes. Ask RKamelot. I already told her about it... though I notably hadn't remembered that Ginji had a concussion at that point. Oh well. At any rate, due to massive amounts of characters and problems, expect there to be a lot more party-splitting and POV-switching in this story than in the previous two. (Note also that the major part of the POV-switching occurs in Chapter 3. It is cyclic, going through the same four characters' POVs, but there's lots of jumping around to cover everything. You have been warned.)_


	14. Chapter 3-1 Part 14

_Whoo! It's late on a Friday night, but the cover for this week is up (yeah,_ this _week), I'm putting up the chapters, I have a new avi, and I'm already a good quarter of the way through revising the first story in the Lost Souls series (unfortunately, I have added yet another one to this series, like I really needed to do that...), so overall it's been a good day._

 _So, here you all are. The next two updates of An Echo through Time. I warned you about this before and I'll warn you again: there is a lot of POV-switching over the course of Chapter 3. However, between the cover (if you can see it at the right time, at least) and the fact that the POVs are all clearly labeled (or if there's no name, it's Kairi, since she's the default), you should be able to keep up._

 _Just a reminder, the Passage Ring Team is as follows: Kairi, Selenia, Guy, Rialle_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Though Guy seemed to have about as much fun with Ice Fang as I did. Especially the part where the homing ice blew up. -Kairi  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.1 - The Four Winds  
Part 14  
**

I frowned and brought the Albiore III around carefully. Down... There. That was better.

I shut down the engines. "Alright. We're on the ground. Reighn, you've got three hours. It shouldn't take me that long to run around in Shurrey Hill, and we do need to get to the Zao Desert tomorrow at the latest or we'll be well behind schedule in meeting back up with the others," I warned him. Reighn nodded.

"Thanks. I just want to double-check..." he paused and glanced at my arm. "Hey... if I bring back some of the crystal, do you think...?"

I bit my lip and summoned Phaïe's Song. I'd made it because I _needed_ a weapon at the time... But Syal...

"Yes. See what you can find... And Reighn. _Listen_. Syal, at least, was conscious. So if she's still partially bound to her shattered monolith..."

Reighn nodded. "Right. I'll keep that in mind. You be careful yourself. You said the monsters around the Mt. Zaleho passage ring had gotten stronger, which means that the monsters here are probably stronger, too."

I hummed and stood, heading off the Albiore III. Guy followed me, Selenia on the other side and Rialle bringing up the rear. I knew once we got into a battle, it'd switch somewhat, because I really needed to be in the back, and Guy would be right on the front lines.

Selenia and I had agreed to let me stay back and cast while she fought as a second melee fighter. This was mostly due to the fact that I wasn't sure how effective Phaïe's Song would be against earth-elemental monsters.

So I was sending the next best thing up against them—the poison that coated the edges of Gray Larkspur's blades.

Reighn and his group headed straight north, while we headed south. Three hours to search here, and then we had to move on to the Zao Ruins. Because we hadn't told the others we'd be making a stop here. It had been a split-second decision on Reighn's part, and I'd agreed, if for no other reason than because Reighn was going back to the destruction of Syal's monolith...

He might just find Asch's promise ring.

Asch might not have minded that I'd lost it, but it kinda mattered to me, because I knew Asch _meant_ his promise.

Oh well. There was only so much I could do, and for right now, that involved regular use of fifth-fonon fonic artes... or what were supposed to be fifth fonon artes. Since I had Phaïe's Song still, my Infernal Prisons kept turning into Raging Mists. And Sapphire Riot wouldn't form. Instead, Negative Gate turned into something icy that I hadn't given a name to, yet.

All of my artes turned into fourth-fonon mutations. Strike artes, fonic artes... It was quickly starting to grate on my nerves, because I didn't really care for it. I wanted my fire back.

And Guy seemed to be noticing, because after the third or fourth battle, he held out Vorpal Blade. "Here, trade for the time being?"

I sighed. "Yeah. At least until I can get Silver Clematis back," I agreed, letting him have Phaïe's Song. His Vorpal Blade felt a bit strange in my hands, and it was a wider blade than I was used to working with, but at least _it_ didn't turn everything into ice or water.

Though Guy seemed to have about as much fun with Ice Fang as I did.

Especially the part where the homing ice blew up.

Selenia wasn't quite as amused though when it blew up rather close to her, and Guy shouted an apology before launching into a watery Tempest.

I noted the amused way Selenia rolled her eyes and went back to hacking at the monsters attacking us.

We had just reached Shurrey Hill when I spotted the blue and black in my peripheral vision. Blue, and black, and _brown_.

Myre. Myre was here.

Why?

I didn't know. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

But we kept moving, because Myre didn't show herself, and I didn't see her again. So all we really _could_ do was go into the sephiroth and figure out what we could.

Gnome was free.

And sure enough, we'd only barely entered before something large and made out of earth came ambling over toward us.

Honestly... it looked sorta like a bear.

Guy and Selenia raced in, and Rialle started chanting the verse for one of her fonic artes. Not Earthquake, thankfully, since I don't think that would have helped us at all.

Something that used the third fonon.

Selenia's attacks just seemed to irritate it, and it didn't much care for Guy either. It swiped at Selenia with a glowing claw, and I took note of the field of fonons that formed. Earth...

Another swipe, this time at Guy, and then I slipped in, pulling in the field of fonons.

"Dark reckoning! Guardian's Pain!"

Just like with the hellhounds, the monster roared, hurt and enraged by my miasma attack. So... they were weak to the miasma, huh?

I waited until the... I decided to call it an eggbear for lack of a better idea, had created another field of fonons. I used that one too.

Two... three Guardian's Pains killed it, and left me standing with Guy, Rialle, and Selenia as its fonons dispersed. "Another one, like the hellhounds in Mt. Zaleho," Rialle noted.

I nodded. "I'm gonna call it an eggbear unless someone has a better idea. And I'm worried. You guys saw that, right?"

Selenia nodded. "Your Guardian's Pain and my hits were the only ones that really hurt it."

I hummed. "Guardian's Pain utilizes miasma... That might be part of it. But I'm not sure why Gray Larkspur... Oh." I paused, ran that over in my head again, and then nodded, certain that I was remembering what I'd read correctly. "Jade said something once, when they found out that Sync could use Shadow Daggers if he was using the Black Rose Daggers instead of his usual set. Sync accidentally hit him, so Jade had to filter out the poison damn fast... He said the poison on the flower weapons from the Sword Dancer is structured similarly to the miasma."

Selenia blinked. "Then, the reason why my attacks were hurting it was because the poison's similar enough to the miasma to do damage?"

I nodded. "I'm guessing. Which is why I'm now worried. If they're weak to the miasma..."

"That means you'll probably have to use Guardian's Pain more than is strictly good for your health," Rialle finished. "Hmm... We'll have to think on it. There's got to be something else..."

"Phaïe's Song did fairly good damage to the hellhounds and then to Ifrit himself," I said. "So it's probably a good thing Reighn's going to get some of that crystal from Syal's monolith. I'll see what I can make out of that, at least." I shook my head. "Come on. We're wasting time standing around here."

The others nodded, and we headed further into the sephiroth, until we actually made it to the passage ring. I stepped up to the terminal and laid my hand on it, watching as the apparatus lit up. It took little effort to speed through all of the locks, and then we had the familiar sight of the passage ring chart above us.

Guy hummed. "You got through those seals pretty fast."

I nodded. "I put most of the current ones in place. The Albertesque Seal is simple enough, anyway. I know the access code that worked for Akzeriuth, so I figured it would work for the replicated Hod passage ring. Which it did back at Mt. Zaleho, and it has here as well... Hm..." Trying to type anything with one hand on the 'terminal' was difficult, so I glanced over the book-like thing, tapped a couple spots, and grinned when I lifted my hand and it stayed open. That made things easier...

But damn I wish I had Asch here right now. I couldn't read Ancient Ispanian... But did I need to? I prodded at the passage ring information a bit, and grinned when a ghostly 'keyboard' appeared in front of me after a bit of experimenting. "Excellent. This ought to make things easier..." Because we had a tight schedule to keep, and I didn't have the time to be programming the passage ring one letter at a time.

Getting used to tapping on keys that weren't really there took me a moment, but once I'd figured it out, my fingers started flying across them, and I kept my eyes on the information above me. I needed ten different things, including fonon outputs across all ten sephiroth—yes, even the Akzeriuth sephiroth that didn't currently have a passage ring—the locking mechanisms on the passage rings, and...

"Is that a... self-repair program?" Guy asked. I nodded.

"Yes. It won't be good enough to raise the Outer Lands again, of course, but the passage rings are in pretty bad shape, and it's starting to look like I'm going to _need_ them operable. So I'm going to see how much of this damage the self-repair protocols can fix, and then I'm going to do a bit of praying, atheistic as I may be," I replied, never once looking away from what I was programming into the passage rings.

Guy kept an eye on what I was doing, not interrupting me as I worked, because I didn't have a lot of time to do this. We'd been out here for an hour already, which meant I only had a little under an hour to finish up here so we could head back.

Once I'd gotten the self-repair programs for all of the passage rings going, and had fixed up some of the errors that were happening due to the replicated Hod passage ring and the lack of the original and the Akzeriuth ring, I took a moment to pause, double-check the time, and then start running the rest of the diagnostics I'd wanted to run.

Those started running, I brought up the fonon charts that had been running in the background the whole time I'd been working on the mess with the self-repair program.

I crossed my arms and frowned at what I saw. Seventh fonons were still as high as they'd been back at Mt. Zaleho, which was a good thing, because it meant having Lorelei in his replica body wasn't affecting that. First, second, fifth, and sixth fonons were even higher though... as if I'd needed any more proof that Lorelei wasn't as strong as his siblings.

Hm...

I reopened the self-repair programs and opened up some of the detailed information and programming. This was going to be tricky, but...

I'd programmed the passage rings to strengthen the dividing line by dumping just a few hundred of the _thousands_ of fonons that passed through them every hour into it. Maybe, if I could program them to use a few more of the second and fourth fonons than strictly necessary... if that would even work without compromising the passage rings' mechanics, at least...

Guy hummed. "Throw in a few sixth fonons. Second and fourth fonons are both linked to first fonons, so the sixth fonons should be able to counteract any adverse effects..."

"While also weakening our third primary threat... Thank you," I said. Guy was right, I noted as I worked. Sixth fonons would work... and with that in place, that would suck away a few extra fonons.

It likely wouldn't be enough to make much of a dent, but at least it would be something, and it meant that there was a chance it could weaken those three.

If we couldn't fix things, so that Myre's future never happened... the least I could do was make it so that she and Lorelei didn't have to try again.

If they'd be _able_ to try again. I didn't doubt that Ifrit had seen Myre, had seen all of us... If Natalia and the others didn't succeed, and Ifrit remained Gnome's ally... Ifrit would more than likely act to get rid of the girl I knew would become Myre. Or if he didn't, Gnome, Undine, Rem... any one of them would kill her.

I'd have to make sure that didn't happen, either.

Which was a pain, and rather amusing, as well.

Because really, she was better equipped than I was right now.

Finally content with what I'd done with the self-repair program, I checked the time again, and scowled. We'd have to go...

"I'll have to check the rest of this at the Zao Ruins," I said, setting everything up so that I'd be able to remote-access the diagnostics I'd set to run from the other passage rings. "We don't have the time for me to look over _everything_."

Guy nodded. "Right... Though I think you might want to look at that before we leave. I'm not sure _what_ that is."

I blinked up at it, then frowned. "I think... that's..." My eyes widened. If that was what I thought it was, then... "That can't be right..." I slipped half onto the second plane. Asch hadn't said anything...

And there wasn't any, but... why...?

I glanced up at the information again, then shook my head. "I'll have to look at that again later. That can't be right. It's got to be misreading something," I said.

I started shutting the passage ring terminal down, and once I'd done that, we left. Guy taking point, while Rialle and I walked side-by-side.

"The miasma. That one Guy pointed out had something to do with the miasma," Rialle murmured. I nodded.

"That high concentration near here... it can't be me, because there is no miasma in my body anymore. But there was too much to have possibly been from my Guardian's Pains. So I'll have to look into it again later."

Rialle hummed. "Right... Incoming!"

Eggbears. Four of them.

Damn, damn, damn...

I growled and raced out to face the monsters myself, because otherwise I didn't think we'd be able to beat all of them. The hellhounds had been strong, and hard enough to beat three to one.

The eggbears were larger, stronger, and I knew we'd never beat them one-on-one...

Something snapped into place, and I glanced around. Guy, Selenia, and Rialle trying to hold off their own opponents...

The Sword Dancer.

And Twilight's Requiem.

"Get them all together!" I yelled, slipping under the eggbear I'd been fighting and using a Havoc Strike to launch it across the floor a ways.

Once all four eggbears were together, I spun on my heel and started drawing on fonons. I didn't have a lot of time...

The world faded to black. "O ancient melody of newborn stars... Resound into these broken souls, and give them hope!"

I hissed as fire raced through my body. A familiar fire...

"Twilight's Requiem!"

It was darker, more sinister.

But it killed all four eggbears.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Twilight's Requiem was NOT meant to be used in conjunction with miasma. Not in the least. Asch will not be pleased when he spots what just happened to Kairi's body in this chapter. Then again, not so sure he'll actually notice it past the other huge miasma dump Kairi's going to get in Chapter 4...  
_


	15. Chapter 3-2 Part 15

_Alright, second update for the week!_

 _Just a refresher, the Monoliths Team: Reighn, Flick, Anise, Luke_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"What? Syal told me to take it. This piece. Exactly." -Reighn  
_

 _Damn me and my natural curiosity. -Reighn_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.2 - The Four Winds  
Part 15**

 **Reighn's POV**

Three hours.

Not a lot of time, but Kairi had a point. We hadn't told the other two groups we'd be making this side trip.

So we had to make it fast.

Finding the edges of the destruction was easy. Finding the center of it was also easy.

 _Navigating_ the destruction... that was harder.

We hadn't looked too hard the first time. There'd been no obvious bodies, and we needed to go find out what had happened on Eldrant.

There had been no getting Kairi back.

So now that we were back, I realized that there was something most definitely wrong here.

Danté. Where was Danté's body?

"Spread out. It looks like the destruction of the monolith has scared off all the monsters; we shouldn't have to worry about fighting," I ordered. "See if we can't find Danté's body, if nothing else."

Flick made a face. "If Danté's body was still here, you'd would think we'd be _smelling_ it already."

I hummed. "It hasn't rained, and depending on how the monolith exploded, it's possible his body's been buried under enough of the debris to cover it and keep the scent from getting too strong." A disgusting train of thought, but one that I had to consider.

It wasn't really fair to just leave Danté's body here... we should at least try to find it.

Luke and Anise headed off one direction, Flick skirting the edge of the clearing... or where the clearing had been, at least.

I headed for the center, toward what had been the monolith...

Syal. Syal had been conscious, Kairi had said.

I knelt on the edge of a small crater and glanced around. Here. This is about where Kairi would have been... so Danté's body should be...

I turned, and then frowned, because was it just me, or...

I walked over, then nodded. Yes. There was a little less debris in this one spot. Almost like... something had been there for it to hit? Danté's body, no doubt, but where _was_ his body? It couldn't have been dragged off by an animal or a monster. Even now, aside from the noise the others I'd come with were making, there was no sound. No bird calls, no monster cries...

Was this what Kairi had felt like, when she'd landed in the destruction of Phaïe's monolith? Was this... what it was going to be like for all of them?

I went back to the central piece of crystal. There was still very much here, in the center...

I blinked. Was it... glowing?

I jumped down into the crater carefully and shifted, placing my hand against the crystal.

A gentle presence brushed against my mind, and if I hadn't known any better, I'd have thought it was Kairi using her telepathy.

But this wasn't Kairi.

 _'Clan Leader... Clan Leader... Myno's Clan, aren't you...? The Leader of Phaïe's Clan... she still lives, does she not?'_

I stiffened in shock. When Kairi had said Syal was conscious...

"Yes..." I murmured. "She's not far from here right now... Phaïe's monolith has been destroyed as well, Syal... and a shard of it has been... repurposed."

 _'Yes, yes... Big sister was pleased! Less pleased, now, for it is not carried by the Leader of her Clan, but she is pleased... Ooh, you're asking permission to do the same with one of my shards!'_

Well, I had to give Syal credit. She was _very_ good at reading between the lines. "Yes."

Syal giggled in my mind, and then nudged me. Something in me felt a tugging. _'Go, find it! Take it, let Phaïe's Clan leader do with it what she will! Ooh, and tell her to find Yda and Havaam, too!'_

I chuckled. "I will..." I moved to get up.

 _'Wait! Myno knows something! Big brother knows something that will help!'_

I glanced at the crystal my fingertips were still touching, and nodded. "Alright. I'll let Kairi know we have to go find his monolith too," I said. We already knew where it was... sort of. Kairi knew where it was, at least, but that didn't meant that we could reach it, and even if we could, I knew there was a chance that getting involved could bring a number of enemies down on our heads.

So I was going to take that advice, keep it in mind, but not actually do anything with it.

I stood, and was almost disappointed when I felt Syal's presence disappear. But there was still that tugging feeling, and I climbed out of the crater and started walking straight toward it.

I knew Syal meant the best... but finding a rather large, teardrop-shaped piece of crystal wasn't what I'd expected.

I frowned at it, then started poking at it, trying to figure out how to call Luke over and tell him that this was the piece that Syal had volunteered for us to take...

Then I sat the crystal up on its larger end, and was a bit amazed by how _light_ it was.

One would think that a crystal this size would weigh about as much as I did.

It was lighter than Aerith. Who was lightweight even for a girl her height and age.

I lifted the crystal easily, practice carrying Aerith, Anise lately, and simply using my staff, which had quite a bit of weight behind it as well, all helping me to build the muscles that I used then.

I headed over to the slightly lessened spot that I had noticed earlier and frowned at it a second time...

Oh. I probably should have asked Syal if she knew what happened to Danté's body... Oh well. Too late now, since I had my hands full.

Luke came over and raised an eyebrow at the rather large chunk of crystal in my arms, and I sighed. "What? Syal told me to take it. This piece. Exactly."

Luke sighed. "I'm not even going to question the logic of that... Let's get going. Flick looks like she's headed back over, and Anise should be back soon... She's running around the perimeter, looking for anything out in the edges of the forest." He gave the crystal another look, then pulled his coat off. "Here, lay it in my coat. I'll help you carry that."

I hummed and did so. "Thanks. It may be ridiculously light for a piece of rock that size, but it's pretty heavy either way."

Luke nodded, then the two of us lifted it. He looked fairly surprised by the weight, then hummed. "I wonder if all the monolith crystals are this light."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't land in the mess that was Phaïe's monolith, after all, and I don't think Kairi tried to pick up anything this large. Or even half this size. From what she's said, I think Phaïe's Song was roughly that size and shape even before she smoothed it down into a katana." We started walking, heading for the edge we'd entered the clearing from.

"No sign of Danté's body anywhere," Anise said as she walked over. Flick crossed her arms.

"What do you think happened to him?"

I sighed. "I don't know, but I found a roughly human-sized patch of debris that's thinner than anywhere else. Whatever happened, Danté's body is gone," I said.

"I wonder if Kairi knows..." Luke murmured.

Flick shrugged. "With Kairi? No telling until we ask. And we're kinda running out of time, so we should go, and ask."

I nodded. "Flick's right. We're running down our time. Let's get back to the Albiore and see what they've learned while we're at it."

Flick headed out first, while Luke and I carried the chunk of crystal Syal had given us, and Anise brought up the rear. Which was a nice enough formation, except for the fact that it left Luke, our primary front-liner, with his sword arm occupied. Because I was carrying the crystal on my right side, and Luke was left-handed.

I was tempted to tell Luke to switch with me, but he didn't look like he was going to want to, because with the way he was glancing around...

Aside from the five of us walking around, I still couldn't hear—wait, five?

I froze, eyes scanning the forest, and the other three noticed, Luke thankfully before he jerked on either his arm or mine.

There was someone else moving...

And the moment the brown-haired woman stepped out of the shadows of the trees, I realized who.

"Myre."

"What the hell do you think you're doing with that?"

She didn't sound quite... angry. Confused, yes. Irritated, yes. But... I could have sworn there was _hope_ under that angry tone.

"Kairi used a shard of Phaïe's monolith to make a weapon when she desperately needed one. So she asked us to get one from here while we were looking around. Syal offered us this one..." I glanced at Luke. Okay. Syal basically demanded we take it, but that was beside the point.

"I see."

The flat tone had me looking back up toward Myre.

She looked... almost thoughtful now, as she stared at the green crystal slung between me and Luke.

Then she scowled and tossed something.

I couldn't catch whatever she threw, and Flick didn't react fast enough. It landed right next to the shard in Luke's coat.

"You'll need that to get to Yda's monolith."

And... Myre was leaving again.

"Wait, what were you doing out here?" I called.

Myre glanced back, and I gasped, because even though she was so much older, and _angry_... That couldn't be...

"Stupid rappigs. Always running off..." she grumbled.

Which had Anise snickering. "You'd think she was looking for one of the Emperor's rappigs," she said. I sighed.

"All domestic rappigs have a bad habit of running off. They don't like being confined. Why do you think rappig pens in Engeve are usually so big?" I said. "Well, anyway, we don't have time to be chasing after her. Flick, come here. I can't reach whatever she tossed in here."

Flick skipped over and had to dig around a bit to pull out...

"Is that a fonstone?" Luke asked.

" _Flightstone_ ," I realized, recognizing those pretty glyphs for what they really were. I'd seen that flightstone Kairi had pulled out back at Theor Forest. "She gave us another flightstone."

Luke held out his free had to look over it, then hummed and dropped it back in with the crystal from Syal's monolith. "Let's go. Kairi's going to want to hear about this, and we're running real short on time."

I nodded, and we started moving again. Myre... Myre had been here... looking for a rappig? Why? What could she possibly have use of a rappig for?

I hummed and brushed it aside. Somewhere around here, should be the trail I marked back to the Albiore...

Flick found the trail and started leading us back along it, and I was a bit surprised to find Kairi, Guy, Selenia, and Rialle just now walking up to the Albiore themselves.

A glance at Selenia had me second-guessing myself. Myre couldn't be...

"Reighn! Whoa. Bit big, don't you think?"

I snorted. "Sorry. Syal all but _demanded_ we take this one."

Kairi giggled. "That sounds like what I remember of her. Pushy little thing, isn't she? Alright, let's get it onboard... Whoa..." She cut off and pulled the flightstone out. "Uh... Where did you get _this_?"

"Myre. She said we'd need it to get to Yda's monolith," I said. And I noted the way Kairi's expression changed, face tightening.

"Then I was right. Yda's monolith is on that one island... damn, damn, damn... And she knows it."

I frowned. "Kairi?"

"Let's get onboard, then I'll set the autopilot for Chesedonia and let Ginji watch everything. He's not allowed to actually pilot the Albiore, but he can babysit, at least, and I think I'd better not be distracted for this conversation," she said.

I tilted my head to the side. "The Albiore III has an autopilot?"

"Both of them do, now. Something Henken and Aston were working on. Amazing what those boys can get done when they put their minds to it, isn't it?" she called back.

That reminded me... "Did we ever figure out what happened to Spinoza?" I asked as we reached the boarding ramp. Up, up...

"He's under probation, but back to working in Belkend," Luke said. "I asked Dad to keep an eye out for him if he decided to go back to Belkend."

Ah. That explained so much.

Once we were all back in the cockpit of the Albiore III, and flying high enough that Kairi was able to activate the autopilot, the eight of us sat in a rough circle, the piece of Syal's monolith and the flightstone in the middle.

Kairi lifted the flightstone and frowned at it, then set it to the side. "Okay. We'll deal with that later... It may be best if we give it to Noelle for the Albiore II. Having both Albiores running at least a little better would be nice... and I'm digressing already." She shook her head, then looked at me. "Find anything other than Myre, the flightstone, and a rather large chunk of crystal?"

I hummed. "Well, we didn't find Danté's body."

Kairi blinked, then facepalmed. "That's because he's on another world right now. Forgot Dark was the only one I'd told."

Well. That would have been nice to—hold up a sec.

"You mean he's on your homeworld?"

Kairi shook her head. "No. He's not on Earth. He's on... well, technically, he's on Aselia, but it's still split in two for the time being, so he's on Sylvarant."

...I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know, I really didn't... want... to...

Damn me and my natural curiosity. "You are telling me more about that later."

Kairi's grin should have warned me away.

Instead, I found my curiosity piqued even more.

Lorelei, what am I getting myself into here?

"Anyway, aside from what's already been covered...?"

"Nothing. Zip, nada, zilch. And it was so silent..." Flick replied, glancing at Luke, who grimaced.

"I don't think I want to go back there anytime soon," Luke said. "That was... creepy would be putting it mildly."

Kairi sighed. "So it's the same as the monolith on Padamiya. I was worried about that... Well, anyway, since you guys apparently didn't find out anything new—"

"Phaïe's irritated that you handed off her sword to someone else," I piped up.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "I gave it to Guy because none of my fifth-fonon artes would form up, okay? The minute I get Silver Clematis back, I'll give Vorpal Blade back to Guy and Phaïe's Song will have to find a new owner."

I chuckled. "So... What did _you_ find out?"

Kairi grimaced. "Monsters. The hellhounds at Mt. Zaleho, and now the eggbears at Shurrey Hill... I think every sentience is going to have their own monster..."

I groaned.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Does Reighn come across as a bit of a cat to anyone else? Always sticking his nose into everything, unable to resist?_

 _...I shoudn't have stuck_ my _nose into_ that _mental image. I now have the urge to drawn Reighn with cat ears. -dies-_


	16. Chapter 3-3 Part 16

_I apologize for being over a week late. I'm afraid time simply got away from me there. (Don't be afraid to send me a PM if Saturday comes around and I didn't post on Friday.)  
_

 _Anyway, the update that was supposed to go up yesterday will go up on Monday._

* * *

 _"The father was a bit of a terror." -Cantabile_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.3 - The Four Winds  
Part 16**

 **Jade's POV**

I wasn't ready to breathe the sigh of relief, but it came out regardless, and the chuckle that met it had me summoning my spear to my hand before I even registered that the man who'd chuckled wasn't actually a threat.

He had been before.

Now? Now he was an ally...

"Ryndor. You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

Ryndor hummed. "True. But then, I've had to dodge worse than your spear before, Necromancer."

I winced at the nickname. Once, I hadn't minded it. It was a part of me, and I'd just have to live with it. Now...

I glanced toward Cantabile.

Evelyn. Her name was Evelyn... And that she'd actually told me that, when she'd outright admitted to not trusting men with her real name anymore...

"You know, the longer you wait, the more likely you are to lose her."

I frowned at Ryndor. "I don't know what you're talking about." Because Cantabile and I had... _something_ worked out, at least...

Ryndor gave me a look that I recognized so damn well... I sighed.

"You raised Dark well," I conceded. He hummed.

"I'd hoped so. After everything Danté did... it's nice to know that one of those boys came out right... Well. Maybe both of them did." I frowned and gave him a look, and he shrugged. "Why don't we go find someplace a bit more... suited for talking? Gnome won't get down here before your sister gets back, trust me. These caverns held through the mess three thousand years ago, they'll hold now."

I followed him without much of a thought. Really, if he wanted to kill me, he'd have done that back when we were trying to get Kairi free. I wasn't an idiot... I don't think anyone but Kairi and Cantabile would call me one, to be honest.

I knew that Ryndor far outmatched me, and if he ever turned that latent strength of his against me, that killer instinct... I would be dead.

Ryndor lead me into a side-cavern, and I glanced around, recognizing the fluted glass spirals easily.

"Some of these came from the caverns in Tataroo Valley, didn't they?" I asked, looking around. Blue, red, green, gold, violet, silver... It was beautiful.

Ryndor nodded. "Yes. And this is the closest thing to a sanctuary that we have down here... the sanctuaries in Tataroo Valley are safer than even the Archives, but they're tiny, and... well. I'm sure you're aware of the security measures in place."

They wouldn't work as hiding places, because of the refugees.

"Why bring me this far out from the main caverns?" I asked.

Ryndor turned and gave me a solemn look. "Jade... I ran into Danté on my way away from that clearing... He lost Arietta. He lost Kallig. He lost everything that mattered to him, and then saved Kairi's life by tearing her free from that monolith. And if I know Kairi, that means he's still alive somewhere. I want to know for sure, but Kairi isn't here yet, and I'm not sure if you know or not yourself."

I sighed. "Right. I'm not sure if Kairi's certain, to be honest. She's... been avoiding mentioning anything to do with that night. I think the shock of nearly dying is finally getting to her. And... I'm worried she may try to do something rash."

Ryndor shrugged. "Well... there's not a whole lot we can do except keep her alive."

I nodded and glanced around. Somehow... why was it that seeing these delicate glass sculptures always calmed me down?

"You were still the Clan Heir when Van died, weren't you?" Ryndor asked suddenly.

I blinked at him for a moment before nodding.

The assassin hummed. "Yeah. I figured as much... Given how calmed you are by these... They make _my_ skin crawl."

I frowned. "Why?"

Ryndor winced. "Elzaeyon. There was a seventh Clan, and Elzaeyon is the closest translation to the language used during Yulia's time. They... they disagreed with the other six Clans. So, while Aurelius, Balacruft, Cecille, Darigan, Fende, and Gardios sealed the sentiences away... The seventh Clan hid away, and swore to free the sentiences again..." Ryndor sighed. "About a hundred years back... roughly four generations... Periana Eliazin married Callum Daemione. What's left of the Elzaeyon line... lives in me, in my sister. And for a while... It lived in Zion. I may call Danté and Dark my sons... but I never dared attempt a proper adoption. Because the magic binding the Darigan Clan to seal away Rem would have destroyed them if the magic binding my line had tried to lay a hand on them."

I frowned. "When you say magic..."

Ryndor hummed. "Your sister called them... Energies? I'm not sure on the specifics. I only know what little my father was able to teach me before his... passing." I note the pause, and wonder idly if perhaps Danté and Dark _weren't_ second-generation as I'd originally believed. "All I'm certain of, however, is that the magic compelling me to destroy the monoliths is finally subsiding. It's... pleasant, having my head to myself again."

And suddenly, I knew _exactly_ when Ifrit had been freed.

Because that splitting headache I'd gotten, the way Seth had snapped at Flick that afternoon...

"This is magic and spirits and nothing we were ever trained for," Ryndor murmured. "Not me, not Rhunön... And most certainly not you."

I glanced at him, then looked away. Because he was right. I'd never been prepared for this... "We need Kairi."

"More than you know. From what Myre, and the Lorelei that sent her back, seem to believe... Kairi's the only one who might _possibly_ be able to give us the edge we need fast enough to save us."

I frowned at the auburn-haired man. Because... "You've spoken to Myre?"

Ryndor winced. "Something like that..." He then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'been held at knife-point by Myre, more like'. And I had the bad feeling that I _wasn't_ imagining things.

"What did Myre want from you?"

Ryndor flinched again. "Kairi."

Which... made no sense.

"When was this, again?"

"About seven hours after the Monolith of Syal exploded."

Myre wanted... Kairi? But what did Ryndor have to do with—no.

"You have a Talent, don't you." Not a question. He had to, what else could explain the way he'd worded that?

Ryndor frowned at him. "Talent?"

"Special ability you've picked up at some point in your life. Kairi says you pick them up with more spirit Energies. She has two—her telepathy and an internal timer of sorts. Sync has one as well—"

"His astral projection. Yes, Myre warned me about that."

I wasn't sure I wanted to ask why Myre had to _warn_ Ryndor about Sync's astral projection. Really.

"You're right. It probably is a Talent," Ryndor admitted. "It... doesn't work quite the same way my father's did... You remember what we discussed back at the monolith? How Kairi wasn't the first Otherworlder we'd dragged there?"

I stared at Ryndor, pieces fitting together in my mind, even though I didn't want to admit it.

Ryndor's Talent pulled innocents out of their bodies, dragged them to Auldrant... and then they'd been sacrificing them so carelessly?

I felt sick.

From the look on Ryndor's face, he didn't like it much, either.

"I brought Kairi here the first time, back when she first landed in Keterburg. Then... We didn't expect her to be able to fight. So many of the others... They didn't have a clue how to fight. I... I hated doing that, over and over again... I only pulled a few through in the years between my father's death and my adoption of Zion. Zion..." Ryndor stopped and shook his head, and I knew _exactly_ what had happened.

"Zion became the Clan Head, and forced you to move faster."

Lime green eyes rose to mine, then fell again as Ryndor nodded once, jerkily.

He hated what Zion had done. What the teen had forced the Council to do.

The Council... "The Council was created for the express purpose of destroying the monoliths, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Unfortunately. We... we were supposed to be a separate branch of the Order of Lorelei, a unit of our own, to counterbalance the Watchers in Yulia City. Then... Then I found Zion and Star. The... The poison Mohs had been using was one of mine, Jade."

I hummed. So. Ryndor felt guilty that he'd saved Zion now. "You took them in. Gave them purpose again, by pulling them into the Council."

Ryndor nodded. "Yes. And Zion dragged us off in a direction I didn't want to go in." Ryndor sighed. "I'm sorry. I keep getting distracted. You're probably going to want to run off as soon as Kairi gets back, and I _need_ to talk to her alone about something. Was there anything you wanted to ask that you haven't already?"

I thought for a few moments. To be honest, I wasn't certain. I'd already learned so much.

Ryndor was responsible for Kairi being drawn to Auldrant in the first place, and for her early return now.

The Clans were bound by the sort of magic Kairi could work with Energies. And there was a seventh Clan, that had disagreed with the other six.

Actually...

"How much did Myre tell you, and how much of that are you willing to tell us?"

Ryndor looked amused. "Not much. Though when I asked how many of the people who went to Eldrant survived the ten years between what should have been a timeline divergence and the future she came from..." He stopped and shook his head. "Selenia, Seth, Guy. Those are the three she said survived."

Which meant the rest of us had died.

"That's not all that encouraging."

Ryndor smirked. "She also told me something else, but I think it's since slipped her mind. I'm not sharing that one with you just yet though. I'd rather see your reaction when _she_ realizes."

I glared at him. I didn't want to know what he was hinting at.

I _didn't_.

The assassin looked thoughtful for a while before shaking his head. "She didn't say much else, to be honest. Just a little blurb after demanding that I drag Kairi back." He sighed. "You should go spend some time with Cantabile. Who knows how long it'll be before you two get some down time again?"

I nodded. He was, unfortunately, correct. I hadn't gotten to stop and actually talk to Cantabile once in the days since the attack on Grand Chokmah. And that wasn't really fair to her, because she'd been trying to get her hands on me, and while I'd once dreaded it...

Well. Now, I wouldn't fight her if she tried to drag me off. Because I knew she was just as unapproachable as I was. We fit together so well...

Ryndor gave me a knowing look and walked off. "We can talk more later. I have no doubt that Kairi and the others will be a few days in coming."

He was probably correct.

So I followed him back to the main cavern and started looking around for the familiar purple-gray hair that would lead me to the woman I truly believed I had fallen in love with... and as sappy as I felt that sentence sounded, I hoped that I had, and it wasn't just me being overly optimistic.

Then again, Reighn was supposed to be the eternal pessimist of the group, wasn't he?

I shook my head to cast that thought off and kept looking.

It didn't take me all that long to find her, standing in the shadows and watching a trio of children... ah, the orphans from Grand Chokmah. Their parents hadn't been found yet, and from what we'd been able to find out, it seemed that they may have fallen victim to one of the earthquake-caused fissures that had opened up in the city.

She glanced over at me as I joined her, and I noted the faint smile she wore.

It was hard to tell the difference between my smiles, if you didn't know me.

It was hard to even spot one of Cantabile's smiles, if you didn't know her.

"Lorelei, how we fit..." I murmured.

Cantabile's smile seemed to twitch a little wider. "True. The guy who can't seem to really be sincere to save his life, and the woman who can't be gentle to save _her_ life _._ "

I gave her an unamused look. "I beg to differ. You've been _very_ gentle with those three. And, on occasion, with Sync... It's just a part of you that you keep hidden from the people you don't trust. Just another thing in our long list of similarities."

Cantabile nodded, and I realized that for a moment, it wasn't the God-General standing next to me.

"Evelyn... In Chesedonia, I asked you something... Okay. I had to drink a bit more liquor than I should have to actually work up the courage to do it, but I didn't drink so much as to impair my memory." I looked over at her, and noted the curious look she was giving me. "You never answered the question I asked you then."

The next smile I got reminded me an awful lot of Sync, one time. When I'd asked him something about Kairi, and he'd given me that 'you should already know' look.

"I'd have thought dragging you to the nearest bed would have been answer enough. You know I was a virgin."

I hummed and brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. I didn't expect it to stay out of the way, of course, but at least I could pretend it would...

Evelyn's smile faded as my fingers drifted to her eyepatch.

"May I?"

She looked away. "I don't know why you'd want to."

"Call me curious. And... I'm fairly certain I've seen worse."

I wanted to see her. The scar that had taken away half of her eyesight, and whatever remained of her eye...

She reached up and removed the eyepatch herself, and I was grateful that I had spoken the truth. I'd seen worse before, but the mangled scar the raked across her eye was something that would make most men sick to their stomachs.

I couldn't help but be amused, though, because while her good eye was a brilliant gold... the bad eye, the eye claimed by a monster's claw, was a faded, milky silver-white.

"Silver, and gold, and blood. What a pair we make."

Evelyn hummed. "Silver, gold, and red... I feel like... I've heard of something like that before. A story about a girl and her father."

"Happy ending?" I asked absently.

She smiled again. "For the girl and her father? Yes. Not so much for some of the other characters. Then again..." she giggled. "The father was a bit of a terror."

I snorted. "And the two of us aren't?"

The smile became a predatory grin. "Exactly."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact(s):** There are actually two this week._

 _1) The Clans. Yes, we've now added a seventh Clan. Why? Because when I originally made the Clans, I wanted to have the first six letters of the alphabet... But to use Gardios, the seventh letter of the alphabet, I'd have to eliminate another letter. Hence why 'E' got dropped initially. Then I realized that since the magic binding Ryndor's family to the Council and the goal of destroying the monoliths was very similar to that binding the six Clans to their monoliths and the seals, I realized where the missing 'E' belonged. By the way, just like the other Clan names have evolved, so has this one: Eriziyon, Elzaeyon, Eliazin. (Also, Tales of the Abyss likes doing things in sevens, so why not?)_

 _2) That last little scene... is me not-so-subtly referencing Marluxia of Avalon's Bloodline Trilogy. XD_


	17. Chapter 3-4 Part 17

_See? Updating on the day I said I would... Albeit later than I'd originally intended.  
_

 _Enjoy. I'll be back Friday._

* * *

 _"Well. I'm not sure whether to hope that Ifrit actually got him, or wonder if his tenacity got him out of another should-be-deadly situation." -Dark_

 _"If we were looking for Ifrit... I think_ he _found_ us _..." -Sorylle  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.4 - The Four Winds  
Part 17**

 **Dark's POV**

Grand Chokmah was a mess, and I winced. Kairi and Myre had been right—Ifrit had come back after we'd left.

Sync looked like he was ready to be sick. "How could they do this...? Grand Chokmah... These people were innocents. If they were angry at their imprisonment, wouldn't you think they'd come after us?" he asked, looking over at me. "We're involved in the Clans mess... okay, maybe I'm not as involved as you are, but still!"

Seth hummed. "Well, regardless of why they decided to attack Grand Chokmah, let's take a look around. My Clan was responsible for sealing Ifrit, so maybe my presence will draw him out?"

I winced. "I hope, if we do actually find Ifrit, that isn't the reason. I'd hate to see what he'd do to you if that happens..."

Seth shrugged. "It was a suggestion. Well... I guess we should look around... We know we misplaced a few people. Maybe some of them survived?"

He was being terribly optimistic, I knew, but there was only so much we could do, and he was right. We needed to see if we could find any survivors, or bodies, at least. Those people needed some sort of closure...

Natalia looked about as pleased with that trail of thought as I did, but there was nothing to be done.

"Alright. Sync, Seth, you two head that way. Natalia and I will loop around this way. Meet up back at the main park," I ordered. Sync nodded, and Sorylle nudged me. I scratched behind her ears absently as Natalia and I headed off in the direction I'd indicated.

"You know... I'm not sure what to think."

I glanced over at Natalia. "Oh?"

"Well... remember how Father wanted you and the other Heirs to stay behind at Eldrant?"

I nodded. "I'm guessing, now that the monoliths have shattered, he's realized there's not much that can be done about stopping the sentiences."

"He's looking at getting you another promotion as soon as is feasible. I think he's concerned about the advisory council. They're... not pleased with you."

I snorted. "Understatement of the century, much?"

Natalia gave me an unamused look, but nodded. "Father trusts you, though. It was the Clans mess he didn't want me involved in, and I think it's rather obvious that _that_ is now a moot point."

I nodded. "Is this your way of telling me I need to go ask your father for permission to court you?"

The barest of smiles tugged at Natalia's lips. "Something like that." The smile faded as she looked around, and I couldn't blame her. This... wasn't the sort of place to be smiling. Not with so many people displaced from their homes...

The Malkuth military had tried their best, but I knew they'd missed at least a dozen people. Probably a _few_ dozen.

So we kept moving, keeping our eyes moving, looking for the tell-tale signs of life... or a body lacking one.

I honestly doubted we'd find anything. The fires had damaged a lot of the city, and in some areas, they still burned.

One of these fires drew me in, and I realized a bit late just what was burning when the acrid smell finally hit my nose.

"Dark..."

"Keep Natalia away," I murmured back to Sorylle.

Well. I'd found one of our bodies...

That in mind, I started looking a bit closer at the fires... but most of them were relatively innocent.

By the time we'd made it to the park, I realized that it was unlikely we were going to find any more bodies, and the likelihood of finding _any_ survivors was... Well.

Zilch.

I leaned against one of the scorched trees and crossed my arms, looking over the city. It usually looked so beautiful... the water, and the white-blue-silver-green that was Grand Chokmah's many walkways, bridges, and platforms... The city was practically built on the water. Gnome wouldn't have to do much to make it uninhabitable. Another few earthquakes like the one that had split the courtyard outside the palace would sink the entire city, or at least most of it.

And wasn't that what Luke had said Lorelei had shown him? Grand Chokmah, sunk into the ocean?

I swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up, because I couldn't see the whites and greens anymore. Or much of the blue or silver.

The water was muddy. The sky filled with smoke. The trees and plants were either black, or brown. The streets were filled with ash and soot, and fires still burned here and there.

For such a beautiful city... This place seemed like an entirely different world.

"Dark?"

I looked back. Natalia was walking over, with something clutched in her hands...

She held it out to me, and I took it warily.

That presence that I knew was Eraia seemed to push against mine, and I got the impression that she was looking over my shoulder almost.

The both of us hissed at the object in my hands.

Part of a robot. I didn't actually recognize it, but the design just _screamed_ Dist. Which meant he'd been here.

I looked out over the water again. "Well. I'm not sure whether to hope that Ifrit actually got him, or wonder if his tenacity got him out of _another_ should-be-deadly situation."

Natalia hummed. "I think I'd like to hope he's still alive, if he was even here in the first place."

I snorted. "None of his robots can operate all that far from him, Natalia. That chair of his... it's not just him attempting to look like he's flying around on his own personal throne, though that's what he'll tell you if you ask. There's a lot of machinery hidden under that fabric. The controls for all of his robots, for one. The fontech that keeps the chair in the air, and the controls that let him keep it out of the way on the rare occasions that he can actually bother to fight, himself." I sighed. "I just hope he never actually decides to jump into battle against us himself... He may not look it, but I've _seen_ that man train before."

Natalia hummed. "Not as incompetent as he looks, I'm guessing."

"He's a fonic genius, just like Jade. I think the only way either one of them is going to lay down and die is if they end up killing each other," I admitted. "Though, credit where credit is due. How the hell Jade can fight so well with that blasted spear is beyond me."

Natalia giggled a bit, and while I didn't smile, some of the heaviness in my heart faded.

She didn't look right when she was so... downcast.

I moved to tuck the partial robot away into my wing pack, then paused and prodded at Eraia. _'What was wrong?'_

" _The core, the_ core _!" _ she hissed back. _"It's power source!"_

I frowned and took another look at the partial robot, then sat down and started pulling it apart.

It didn't take me long to find what had Eraia so tense.

"Natalia..."

She walked back over and looked down at the crystal in my hand.

Pure _black_ , but somehow still... glowing?

There was something wrong about it, but I wasn't sure what.

" _Wrong, wrong, how could that have gotten here?!"_

' _Eraia... Eraia... Eraia!'_

Eraia hissed. _"Seal it! We must seal it!"_

' _How?'_

She was silent for a moment.

Then I felt her tugging on me, and Grand Chokmah faded. I found myself in my mindscape, with Eraia standing nearby. I frowned as I looked again, then noticed that the black crystal was still in my hand. "Eraia?"

"Half here, half there. But I'm not sure..." The hiss that followed this had me worried. "Fire! Firefur! She may have a better idea... for now..." Eraia stepped forward and plucked the crystal out of my hand before swallowing it.

"Eraia! Is that safe?!"

The clicks and whirs that followed, I couldn't translate. Then she spoke words I _could_ make sense of.  "Not really. But my body is safer than yours. Be careful. I will stay nearby, but I must leave your mindscape, for your safety. Find your friend. Find Firefur. She may now how to properly seal the crystal's power."

Eraia turned and raced away, and suddenly I was back in Grand Chokmah, Natalia knelt in front of me.

"Dark? Dark! Oh, oh thank goodness you're coming back around!"

I blinked a few times and then hissed. Where had this headache come from? "Eraia... The crystal..." I glanced down at my hand. Gone. The crystal was gone.

"It disappeared. I'm not sure what happened to it... I was more worried about you," Natalia said. I forced myself back to me feet and did my best to shake off the strange exhaustion. Eraia was gone from my mindscape, I knew, because I couldn't see her there anymore...

"Eraia took it. She said... We need to find Kairi. Something about that crystal... she didn't like it. Something about sealing it? I'm not sure... She took it and ran off, said that when we find Kairi, she'll be back."

Natalia hummed. "I see..." She looked up at the sky. "I'm a bit worried... shouldn't Sync and Seth be here by now?"

"And here we were about to worry about you two." I turned to look at Sync as he wandered in. His white coat wasn't very white right now, and from the looks of it, he'd gone for a swim. "Did either of you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

Natalia's curious question must have been answer enough. Sync sighed. "Foundation's shifted. Gnome must had screwed up enough of the pillars with that earthquake... Good thing we both know how to swim."

Seth looked _less_ than pleased as he walked up, and I couldn't _quite_ hold back the snickers.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled, wringing out the rest of his currently-curly hair and shaking it out. Looked like he was still trying to get the rest of the water out of his clothes. Sync seemed to have given up.

"Well. It's getting late... do we head back to the Albiore and sleep there, or risk making camp inside the city?" Sync asked.

I winced. "We'll have to have a night watch if we stay inside the city, but I don't think we'd make it back to the Albiore before nightfall, and I don't want to be moving in the dark."

Sync nodded. "Sounds like it's time to make something to eat, then."

I hummed. "Yeah." I glanced around. "Think we can get away with building a new fire?"

Seth frowned. "Why not just use one of the ones that hasn't gone out yet?"

I flinched, Natalia frowned at me, and Sync noticed our expressions. "Dark? Something wrong?"

I grimaced. "A couple of the fires we've passed... they were bodies. Still burning... I barely recognized them for what they were... The smell was what gave the first one I found away."

Well. If they'd had appetites before, they certainly didn't now. I sighed, shook my head at them, and looked around. I didn't like the idea of staying out in the open, and this park seemed to be on nice, sturdy ground... yeah. Looked like we'd be staying here for the night.

I picked a spot and started a fire. We could probably make a cold meal, but I just wasn't sure I'd be able to stomach much of anything. Which was why I was thinking soup. I had the vegetables and things we'd need in my wing pack, and anything I didn't have, I was sure Sync or Seth would have. Natalia didn't often carry cooking supplies on her, but the other two did.

I'd have been irritated about Natalia not bringing lots of types of food, but really, the other things she _did_ remember to bring—extra water canteens, some spare matches and things—were more than enough to keep me from being irritated. Because some of the things that she brought that seemed excessive to the others were really helpful at times.

Like now. I never carried matches on me. A flint stone, yes. Matches? No. And unfortunately... I couldn't find the stone I was looking for.

I sighed. "Natalia? You got a match?"

She giggled. "You lost your starter again."

Yeah, I really needed to stop doing that...

I accepted the match she gave me with a smile, and noted Sync and Seth walking over with some more firewood. I'd pulled the wood I'd started the fire with out of my wing pack, but some of the wood around Grand Chokmah had dried out enough to be used for this as well.

Once we had a fire going, getting the vegetable soup started was easy.

None of us had a huge appetite, so really, I wasn't all that surprised that we were still sort of picking at our food an hour later.

I sat my finally-empty bowl down and looked around.

It was on the second glance-around that I noticed we weren't alone.

Sorylle's ears were straight up, and she was staring straight ahead at something or another, but what it was exactly, I wasn't certain.

"Sorylle?"

She glanced at me, then back at the shadows.

I stood and headed over in that direction.

That's when I spotted him. Dark skin, darker than I'd ever seen, but I figured that there were probably people in Chesedonia with skin darker than his. After all, grow up with enough sunlight, and your skin turns plenty dark...

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," I said. The man was older than me, but younger than Guy, I'd have guessed. About Luke and Asch's age... Or actually, I noted as the man stepped out of the shadows, closer to Kairi and Natalia's age.

Dark skin, dark hair... but almost orange-brown eyes. Something about him had me wary, and I could see from the way Sorylle was acting, she was wary as well.

"You want something to eat?" he asked.

The man looked... dare I call him amused?

"Nah thanks. But ah appreciate the offa."

I tilted my head to the side at the man's strange accent.

Strange appearance, and an even stranger accent... And it didn't look like there were any burns on him.

"Were you here a week ago?" I asked.

The man shrugged. "Somethin' like that."

"Dark..."

I turned. "Yes, Sorylle?"

"If we were looking for Ifrit... I think _he_ found _us_..."

I blinked at her, then looked back at the dark-skinned man.

"Ya can understand 'er"?" the man asked, impressed.

I nodded. "Can you... Ifrit?"

The man jerked back, and I raised my hands. "Easy. I'm still not going to hurt you."

Ifrit stared at me with wide eyes for a few moments.

Then he started to relax, the faintest of smiles on his lips. "Ya good, ah gotta give ya tha'. Ah—" he cut off, and I cursed, because I could _smell_ the clay, even as Sync cried out.

"Gnome!"

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _I debated for a long time whether or not to put Ifrit on the cover. Whether or not he's really there, what with all the blacked-out characters, will be revealed in time._


	18. Chapter 3-5 Part 18

_Hey, look at this! I'm updating on time! -is shot-_

 _Okay, on a more serious note, Camp NaNoWriMo is doing wonders for my word count, which completely stalled after April's Camp NaNo. Which is something that the entire Ripples trilogy seems to have a problem with, as I wrote my 50k for NaNoWriMo in 2014, then didn't touch the main document again until late September/early October 2016. At which point, I managed to push through, write quite a few thousand words to get it going, and then wrote a good 63k for NaNoWriMo itself._

 _Since my attention is spread across five stories for Camp, I'm not expecting another 60k for July. Well, actually, that's a maybe. I've got myself set up so I'm putting twice the focus on AEtT as I am on the other five stories._

 _Anyway, as I was saying... I do not intend to do AEtT for NaNoWriMo this November, so I'm hoping the two Camp sessions, plus whatever extra writing I do after July, will be enough to get me to and through November. If not, be warned a few months in advance, I may have to skip a week before giving you updates. But I hope I don't have to, and it's looking like I shouldn't need to, so you're welcome to just ignore me. I'm perfectly aware that I'm rambling._

 _Back to more story oriented-stuffs... We've returned to Kairi! And... A bit of a surprise character who decided to do a Heel-Face Turn... ish... thing... You know with that guy, I really shouldn't try to apply any sorts of labels. I'll just come to regret it later._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"Is 'scrap' supposed to be a curse?" -Rialle_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.5 - The Four Winds  
Part 18**

I stretched, glad to have the Albiore on the ground again. Flying around the sandstorms in the desert was a trick and a half.

Ginji was already getting the engine covers put into place, so I headed toward the back. It was really, really early, early enough that it was still fairly dark out, but that was fine. We were still a ways out from the Zao Ruins, and Reighn and the others were headed into who-knew-what to try to find Alvess' monolith.

I took another glance at the crystal from Syal's monolith. I hadn't figured out what to turn it into, yet, and I had a feeling it was going to be a while before I did.

Waking the others was easy. Making a small breakfast was easy. Getting everyone going after that point? Not so easy. Tended to happen when Rialle and I were the only two morning people in the group.

Still, once Flick was awake, everyone was awake, because Flick was dangerous to put among sleepy people. So we finally set out, and I found myself remembering why I really hated the Zao Ruins.

I didn't mind the sand as much as some of the others did. Yes, it got everywhere, and yes, it was itchy... But it was nothing compared to the monsters that liked to sleep under it. You step wrong, and you wake up a monster that'll come jumping up out of the sand to attack you. More often than not, it'll sink its teeth in.

And most of the monsters in the desert were poisonous.

So unhelpful...

But reaching the Zao Ruins was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because it got the others to stop complaining about the sand and the heat, and a curse, because. Well.

The monsters inside the ruins were stronger than the ones in the desert. Which meant we'd have to spend more time fighting them.

I hated having to slow down for these things...

"Alright. Um... Anybody remember the fastest way down to the sephiroth?" Selenia asked. Guy sighed.

"Yeah, no... My memory isn't that great either. And I'm probably beating my head against a wall for this one... Kairi?"

I smirked. "Ya'll are lucky. Come on, let's move. I don't want to waste any more time in here than I have to," I said, heading down the stairs and straight to the right. Across this bridge, then left...

It was a bit odd, running through this place by memory when my memory had the camera well above the party, but I'd done it enough times that I knew where I was going. Avoiding the monsters, though... that was another story altogether.

Not that the others seemed to mind the monsters all too much. We were taking them out easily enough... And Sylph wasn't free, anyway, so why worry about wind-elemental monsters attacking us?

Certainly, most of the monsters around in the ruins were actually of the earth element, which had me on the lookout for eggbears, but in the desert? Mostly wind.

Still... familiarity breeds contempt. I figured I'd better be on my guard, regardless. I knew that I had to keep going, so I glanced around and walked.

I knew I'd been right to be wary when we reached the final bridge near the sephiroth, because I could _see_ the eggbear standing there at the end.

"Oh boy. Another one of these, huh?"

I sighed and drew Vorpal Blade. "Unfortunately. Let's go!"

Guy and I took point, Selenia staying back to cast for a moment. I knew she got uncomfortable fighting on the front lines all the time, so I wasn't going to force her to fight the eggbear, especially as dangerous as it was. Besides, between the eggbear, and...

"Invoke earth!"

I grinned, spun on my heel, and easily fell into Guardian's Pain. Good. That was another eggbear down. ...Huh.

I frowned at it for a moment before I realized what had happened.

"The eggbears are weaker here," I said. "We're farther from Shurrey Hill, and the Zao Ruins sephiroth is wind, anyway. It was drawn here by the earth-elemental monsters, but it's weak."

"So it's not nearly the threat here as it is at Shurrey Hill," Guy agreed. "Right... The sephiroth is just up ahead. Let's... Oh, hell."

I glanced past him. What was... oh.

"I'm gonna kill someone."

Rialle giggled. "Don't. It's not a real Daathic Seal," she said, skipping over. "Anise hasn't seen this yet, but Reighn could do this too..." She raised one hand and traced out a pattern, and the 'Daathic Seal' faded, leaving her to turn around and smile at us. "See? Come on!"

I smiled. "Well, that's one way to deal with a problem. But... when did..."

"It's something we started implementing back during the last few years of Evenos' reign," Rialle said. "I was still just a new initiate myself, but Reighn, already the Head of the Fon Master Guards, knows all about it. It's a tricky little device that produces something that looks like the usual Daathic Seal if that seal isn't here for x amount of time. Since you guys avoided the Zao Ruins so much, you never actually got to see it, seeing as how I'm pretty sure Sync originally set the seal on a timer, and then Zion left it open."

Guy nodded. "That would explain why we didn't see it last time. So... All of the sephiroth will do that after a while?"

"Yup. By now, the Absorption and Radiation Gates will have activated, and I think Mt. Roneal activated, too. We go down to the Mt. Zaleho sephiroth often enough that that one never activated," she replied. "And Shurrey Hill wasn't showing anything, but then, I think Sync said he went there at some point after the Monolith of Syal blew up, but before we met up about a week and a half ago."

I sighed. "So he probably knows about it, too. Right..."

I glanced around to get my bearings, since we'd kept walking, and realized we'd taken a wrong turn. So we had to backtrack a bit before heading further down toward the passage ring. Though, when I walked across that bridge, the one with the clear view of the passage ring, I realized that we weren't alone.

I didn't know who exactly that was down there, but I did know that he didn't belong here.

I started running. If he messed up something with the passage ring, there would be nothing I could do for it.

Of course, as soon as we actually got down to the correct level, I realized _exactly_ who was standing at the terminal and scowling up at the information over his head.

The relatively plain clothing and utter lack of a floating chair was what had thrown me off.

"Saphir."

The man turned and gave me an amused look. "You know, I haven't heard someone call me that in years."

"You're good, but I don't think you have a clue what you're doing here," I said.

Dist shrugged and looked back up at the passage ring. "And what gives you that idea?"

"You still haven't gotten past any of my passwords. Or the Albertesque Seal, for that matter."

He gave me a sour look, but stepped aside, and I decided to let it go and focus on the passage ring above me.

Albertesque Seal first, then bust through all of mine, and then...

"Oh boy... Guy, tell me I'm reading that wrong," I said, pointing to one of the graphs I had running. Guy winced.

"I'm gonna say no."

I growled. "Great..." It didn't take me long to get my keyboard back, and then I was back to typing.

"Well. You've certainly managed to cover almost all of your bases, haven't you?"

I shot Dist a look. "Stuff it, Saphir. I've got a dozen other things to think about that don't involve dealing with you right now. What were you doing down here, anyway?"

"I was trying to see if I could get into any of the passage rings. I can't get through the one in Eldrant."

"Eldrant? What were you doing at Eldrant?"

Dist snorted. "Please. Stay on the ground with Gnome running around? Don't tell me you're _that_ stupid."

"We're not. But in case you haven't noticed, we've got two Albiores, and Ginji is still recovering from a concussion, which means he's banned from flying," I said, never taking my eyes away from the programs I was running.

Good news was, the self-repair was working magnificently. Bad news...

It wasn't repairing either of the Gates. And those two kept the other eight—currently seven—passage rings from overloading.

I needed to get to the Gates to fix them.

"Shadow said Lorelei was teaching Luke and Asch to teleport. Not only that... Myre gained her Talent at six spirit Energies."

I froze halfway through a line of programming.

Myre's present-day self had five spirit Energies.

"Noted," I said before launching back into the programming. This wasn't easy work, and it had to be done quickly, or I'd never manage to get everything done in time.

At least I'd have more than an hour to work on it. With everything I'd just found out, I'd need it.

"What did you need with the Eldrant passage ring, anyway?" I asked.

"I was meaning to redirect most of the fonons coming up through it into the replication. At the rate the machines are currently running, it'll be almost a year before Eldrant is completed, and we don't have that long."

I hummed. "I'll have to see the setup of the passage ring and fomicry machines, but I might be able to do one better than just redirecting the fonons to make it go faster," I said. "Right now, though, I need to focus on this..."

A monster's cry behind me drew my attention away, even as Guy cursed.

"Eggbears!"

I growled. "Saphir. Do me a huge favor. Help them keep the eggbears away from here!"

That Saphir raced off with Guy, Rialle, and Selenia was a relief. I wasn't sure what I expected him to do, but the fact that he seemed to have run a Heel-Face Turn was... interesting. Wait.

What about Nebillim...? The man I'd just spoken to hadn't reminded me of the man from the game at all. In fact...

That was the same man who'd smiled at me in Daath, when Mohs had captured Jade and the others. The same man who'd taken me back to the Tartarus while I was still Major Mirage.

Dist. Saphir... Dist was a cover. An act...

So. If Dist wanted the revival of Nebillim... what did Saphir want? He was trying to finish the creation of Eldrant, but why? Why save others, when he could simply stay on Eldrant alone? He didn't need it finished for that.

There was something going on here, and I didn't have the time to think on it. I needed to finish programming the passage rings. For one thing, I needed to remote-access the Gates and see if I could figure out why the self-repair programs weren't working there. And if I could program that from here, I would. If not, I'd have to do it as soon as possible... which meant I'd probably borrow Luke to teleport me, if he could. I wasn't totally sure how their ability worked, so one way or another, I'd have to find out.

I finally finished with the programming that would keep the sentiences from meddling with the passage rings right around the same time the other four came back.

"You know, for someone who usually sits around on a chair and lets his robots do the dirty work, you're a pretty good melee fighter," Guy noted.

I hummed. "Saphir. Over here. I'm about to pull up the remote-access for the replicated Hod passage ring."

He walked over and stood next to me, watching my fingers fly, and whistled after a moment. "Damn you're good at that. I don't think _Jade_ can type that fast."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, eyes on the info, please."

Saphir's head tilted back as he looked up, and I kept typing.

The Eldrant/Hod passage ring information opened up above us, and I smirked. "Oh, goody. Full access. So. How much do you know we can do for sure?" I asked. He hummed.

"Well, first thing we'll have to do is figure out how many fonons are being directed through the sephiroth, and how many are already getting sucked into the replication process." I tapped the 'ghost' keys for a few moments, bringing up a couple of charts. Saphir hissed. "Damn. If that's all that moving through..."

"Actually, there should be more... Oh. That's the problem... Scrap."

"Is 'scrap' supposed to be a curse?" Rialle asked.

"Yeah... Ask the details later," I muttered back. "Sorry, Saphir. I'm going to have to come at this one from the Eldrant terminal. Too many of those systems have been linked into the passage ring for me to risk changing anything remotely when I can't access the rest of the systems," I added a bit louder.

He sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot. Where are you planning to go after this?"

"We have to find Reighn and the others we sent to look for Alvess' monolith first, then report in to the other two groups, but I think Eldrant would be a good place to go after that. For one thing, the Energy walls within the Archives aren't going to protect the refugees from Grand Chokmah forever. They'll keep Gnome out for now, but we need a more permanent solution, and we'd already agreed that Eldrant was going to have to be it. Finding out you've been working on that as well means less work for us later. Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome."

I closed out of the Eldrant remote-access and went back to sorting through the rest of my data. Checking fonon levels, checking the status on the self-repair...

I saw it immediately, the moment the levels of third fonons spiked. I paused and stared at it for a moment, then swallowed. "Okay. Here I am, atheist praying to a few different gods that Reighn and the others are responsible for that," I said before doing my best to ignore it and coming back to the miasma tracking I'd been doing. Sure enough, the miasma had followed me to the Zao Ruins. Though there was now a relatively large deposit back at Shurrey Hill...

Ah. Twilight's Requiem. That's why I'd felt like I was on fire...

I pulled up a map, letting colored dots indicate fonons densities in each area. Unsurprisingly, third and fourth fonons took over most of the world, where the oceans were. First and sixth fonons indicated where it was daytime and nighttime...

The fifth fonons in Grand Chokmah and the gathering second fonons there had me worried.

"Be careful, Dark..."

Gnome was coming...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Kairi's 'Be careful, Dark...' right there at the end is said at exactly the same time as Sorylle's 'if we were looking for Ifrit... I think he found us.' To give you an idea of when these timelines are occuring. Also, note that Kairi spots the spike in third fonons. That'll happen the moment the Monolith of Alvess shatters... Next chapter. Which will be posted next week._

 _So get ready, because things are about to get real crazy, real fast._


	19. Chapter 3-6 Part 19

_Before anyone gripes (not that anyone's said anything, but oh well) I was two days late on purpose. Today marks 3 years since I first posted Re:A Ripple in the Abyss. In honor of the three-year anniversary of the rewritten version, I bring you all lots of stuff.  
_

 _A double-update for An Echo through Time._

 _A bunch of Colored Ripples chapters. (8 currently, the 9th to be posted tomorrow afternoon since it's another long, multi-part one and I haven't finished writing it yet and it's going on 10pm and I have work in the morning._

 _A picture! fav . me / daai3et (If the link refuses to work, go find me (Twilight-PhoenixFyre) on DeviantART and then look for Stargazers. Should be my most recent upload, for a while at least.) By the way, Stargazers is a bit of a throwback to Re:ARitA._

 _So... Enjoy all of your presents!_

 _And apparently Luke took over on quotes today..._

* * *

 _"You're also chewing on your lip. You only do that about five minutes into plotting out just how many ways we're going to die." -Luke_

 _"Just a memory of me asking 'what's a Fon Master Ion.'" -Luke_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.6 - The Four Winds  
Part 19**

 **Reighn's POV**

What were we going to do when we found the monolith? What if we never found it? What if we did find it, and Sylph joined Gnome and killed us? What if destroying the monolith meant it exploded as the Monolith of Syal had? As the Monolith of Phaïe had? We'd die if it did...

"Reighn."

What if Sylph didn't immediately kill us, but waited until we'd let her in to kill us? What if she ended up killing the others as well?

"Reighn..."

What if she _did_ decide to help us? What would Gnome do? How would he react? We'd have his elemental opposite...

"Reighn!"

I jumped, blinked at Flick for a moment, then shook my head. "Yeah?"

"Stop thinking so pessimistically!"

I stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "You're not telepathic."

"I don't need to be telepathic to know you're thinking up every way this can possibly go wrong," Flick replied. Luke sighed.

"You're also chewing on your lip," the redhead added. "You only do that about five minutes into plotting out just how many ways we're going to die."

I blinked at him for a long few minutes, then glanced at Anise. Who looked about as impressed as the other two. I rolled my eyes. Okay. Maybe I did need to stop worrying about this so much.

"Fine. Let's go, we can't be that far out."

Flick gave me a _look_ , but didn't say anything, just turned to Luke. He was leading the way, since the rest of us were long-range or fonists. Anise and I hated being in the middle of everything, and Flick... well, Flick was crazy, so I decided not to go there.

Luke was a melee fighter, and had the greatest stamina of all of us, so he went first.

I let myself hope a little bit. Maybe... maybe not everything would end badly. Maybe...

We rounded a cliff face and Luke froze. I glanced past him, and realized what had him frozen.

We'd found it.

"Ooh... Pretty!" Anise cheered, running forward. And, well, it was pretty. A soft golden color, shining in the sunlight, and it actually had softer edges than the Monolith of Syal had. So... this was the Monolith of Alvess...

"I would go back around that cliff if I were you."

I jumped, summoning Gold Wisteria to my hand before I realized the shadowy figure standing nearby wasn't a threat.

"Shadow," Luke greeted him. "Could you maybe _not_ do that please?"

Shadow didn't really respond. The blackish, blobby thing that somewhat mimicked a human shape waved back and forth a bit. I wondered if he was laughing, then decided not to ask. "You're going to shatter the monolith, aren't you?" I asked.

Shadow seemed to twist, like he was turning to look at me. "That was the point of coming out here, was it not? Fear not—Sylph is not enraged as Gnome, Undine, and Rem."

I noted that he didn't mention Ifrit. So, Kairi and Natalia had probably been correct. Ifrit could possibly become another ally.

I looked over at Anise. "Anise! Get back here!"

She turned and ran back without an argument, probably because she was used to following my orders. We all slipped back behind the cliff, so that the shattering monolith wouldn't harm us.

One moment, Shadow was there. The next, he was gone, and I could see a soft golden glow... one that intensified to a point where I couldn't take looking at it anymore. I had to close my eyes...

It was like being in the forest again. The monolith glowing, and that hum, eardrum-shattering crack, and then the whistling.

I dared to open my eyes. The desert. We were in the desert...

And there were golden shards flying past the cliff.

I took a deep breath. The Zao Desert. The Monolith of Alvess. _Sylph_. This wasn't the forest outside St. Binah. This wasn't the Monolith of Syal, and no one had been strung up to it like a sacrifice. This wasn't going to release a sentience that wanted nothing more than the destruction of the whole human race.

I had to keep repeating that to myself until I was certain the shards had settled.

The monolith was destroyed.

I took a couple careful steps, and then stepped out from behind the cliff.

While most of the shards had scattered and landed harmlessly in the sand, many had slammed into the cliff wall that ran alongside the former-monolith. There were lots of chunks of dark rock that had fallen, and more golden shards that were stuck inside the cliff face.

I gulped. If that had been us... We'd be dead.

It was utterly silent, too. Before, we'd heard wing beats, the soft whispers of monsters moving around.

Now, aside from the breathing of myself and my companions...

Silence.

I stepped further away from cover, toward the largest chunk of crystal that still sat in the 'crater' in the sand. Syal had chosen which of her shards was to be taken to Kairi. I figured I might as well give Alvess the same choice...

I didn't quite make it to the central crystal before the winds picked up and forced me to cover my eyes or get one hell of a lot of sand in them.

"Reighn!"

I didn't look back. Anise, please let Luke grab Anise, I don't want her out here...

The winds died down, but I could still hear the whisper of something moving through the air, almost like wings, so I dared a glance up.

Sylph wasn't an angel, as she was usually depicted... she was a fairy. Complete with tiny size and gossamer fairy wings. Well, relatively tiny size at least. She was about half my height, which, compared to Ifrit, who'd been more than three times my size, was tiny.

Sylph seemed to notice me. "Ooh, hi there!"

The 'fairy' giggled and flew a circle around me. "Oh, oh! You're one of the Clan Heads, ain't ya? Huh, Myno's Clan, right?"

Remembering what Syal had said, I nodded. "Yes."

Sylph giggled again, then paused and glanced down at the large crystal that was now half-covered by the sand she'd kicked up. "Alvess wants to talk to ya," she said after a moment. I smiled.

"I was kinda hoping to talk to her, yes, but..."

Sylph giggled. "Go ahead. I'll still be here! She's impatient."

I chuckled. Impatient? Earth? ...Well, Syal had been pretty childish, but oh well...

I slipped down the sandy embankment and practically landed on the large crystal still in the ground. I brushed off a bit of sand before pressing my palm to it...

' _Ah, there you are. Syal and Phaïe said you had started collecting monolith shards for weapons,'_ Alvess said. I smiled. Not even beating around the bush, this one...

"Yes, we are."

' _Here...'_ Another tugging started, and I nodded.

"Thank you."

' _Collect shards from the other three. Once all six of us have been reunited, we will teach you a technique that has been lost.'_

I blinked then nodded again. "I understand. Thank you."

Alvess hummed against my mind, then drew away, and I headed back up out of the sandy crater. Luke, Flick, and Anise had finally come out from behind the cliff, and I glanced around before following the tugging that Alvess had put in place. Over here...

The shard Alvess had sent me to was roughly star-shaped, and while it was smaller than the one Syal had given us, it was also much heavier. Luke helped me to lift it into the netting we'd brought with us this time.

Then we walked back over to where Sylph was playing with Flick and Anise. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Having fun?" I asked.

The three of them stopped, Sylph giggling. "Oh, yes. It's been a while since I've had anyone to play with."

Luke chuckled. "I'm going to guess you're not jumping on Gnome's 'kill all humans' bandwagon."

Sylph froze, stared at him for a moment, then wilted and muttered something softly. Then she sighed. "You guys are looking for someone to help you against him, aren't you?"

I winced. "Allies would be nice, but any sentiences willing to keep out of the way are sentiences we don't have to watch our backs for."

Sylph sort-of smiled. "So... you won't be mad if I decide to stay neutral? I love humans, you guys don't live long, but you're a lot of fun! But... I can't fight my brother, and Undine's really mad too, I'm sure, and if Rem's going to help them like I think she is... I'm sorry. I just don't want to fight my siblings."

I nodded. "I can understand that."

Sylph's smile became more sincere. "Thanks... Oh! I know! Go talk to Ifrit! He loves humans too, and he and Gnome are always fighting over something or other! He'll help you out!"

I glanced at Luke, and couldn't stop the smile that spread across my lips.

Natalia and Dark had gone to talk to Ifrit in Grand Chokmah. And now Sylph was telling us, in that voice that said she was certain of what she was saying, that Ifrit would be a willing ally. Which meant it was very likely that the two of them had gone to retrieve an ally...

The black, blobby thing that I knew was Shadow appeared behind Anise, and she jumped when she realized Shadow had slid up right next to her. "Sylph."

"Shaddie!"

I barely held back the snort as the fairy tackled the black amorphous sentience. Flick held no such reservations, instead snickering openly.

Shadow groaned. "Missed you to, Syl. Can you get off?"

Sylph giggled, but let go of her 'brother' and flew around in circles over him. Shadow sort of wobbled, like he was trying to follow her flight path but was making himself dizzy instead.

He shook himself visibly, then looked over at me. "Sylph. I understand not wanting to fight Gnome. But Saphir and I would like your assistance in protecting Eldrant."

Sylph flipped herself upside down and somehow floated in front of Shadow's 'face' as she looked at him for a long few moments. "What's an Eldrant?"

Luke coughed, and I glanced at him. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing..."

"Luke..."

"Just a memory of me asking 'what's a Fon Master Ion.'"

I only barely avoiding busting up laughing. Because really... If Luke had asked that with the same inflections Sylph had just asked _that_ question...

Yeah, I can see why that had Luke about to choke.

Shadow shot what was probably a sour look at us before looking back up at Sylph. "It's a small island in the sky. You'll probably feel it. That direction," he replied, a vaguely-arm-shaped bit of darkness pointing north. Sylph shot up into the sky and disappeared for a moment, then returned.

"Ooh... Gnome's gonna be so _mad_... I like it!"

Shadow made a sound that was caught between an exasperated sigh and a groan. "Chaos is Ifrit's specialty. Please let it stay that way."

Sylph just giggled, then turned to the four of us and waved. "I'm gonna go see what I can do about that protecting Eldrant thingy, okay? I'll see you there maybe!"

She then took off back up into the sky, and Shadow made another hum-groan. "Well. At least that gives her something productive to do." He then seemed to turn to us. "Is that the shard Alvess gave you?" he asked.

I nodded, and he hummed some. "Where is Yda's monolith?" I asked. He made an annoyed sound.

"Not someplace I'm going to take you right this instant. You need to get back to the Hidden Archives. Gnome just noticed your friends in Grand Chokmah," he said.

"Oh no... Natalia, Dark, Sync, Seth... We've got to warn them or something!" Flick said. Shadow waved back and forth, then went back to standing tall as he looked over toward me and Luke.

"I will take you four and that shard back to the Archives. But Luke. You need to contact Lorelei. In this form, I am useless against my brothers, should Ifrit bend to Gnome's will," he ordered.

"What about Kairi? She's expecting us back at the Albiore III."

"Saphir will direct her toward Eldrant."

The surety with which Shadow spoke actually worried me a bit. Saphir? Dist the Reaper? So far as I was aware, he was an enemy, so why...?

No. We'd have to get answers later.

"If Gnome's returned to Grand Chokmah, he'll have realized that the citizens evacuated, and he'll start looking for them. The Archives aren't safe, are they?" I asked

Shadow seemed to swish back and forth. "No. Not anymore."

I nodded. "Right. Then we need to go. The sooner we start evacuating the Archives, the safer we'll be."

Shadow hummed, then sort-of slid over. "Here. I will take you back to the Archives."

Luke, Anise, Flick and I formed a square around him, with the netting and the shard of Alvess' monolith slung between me and Luke.

The darkness enveloped us, then faded away with a gut-wrenching feeling that had me swaying and holding my stomach. Luke looked about as pleased, but neither of the girls seemed all that bothered.

"...Hello."

I glanced over my shoulder, noting the way Tear was blinking at us, and smiled. "Hi. We came back early."

"I can see that."

Luke groaned. "Okay, you two suck at that. Come on, let's just get out of here already. Gnome's coming."

"But..."

"He found out about the guys in Grand Chokmah. If we're lucky, Ifrit will protect them from him. If not... Well. He knows now that the citizens evacuated. He will be coming for you, and while the Energy Wall protects the majority of the Archives from the blunt-force attacks that he favors, there are cracks," Shadow said.

"I'm guessing that's how _you_ got in."

I turned and nodded to Jade and Cantabile as they walked up... Jade was, notably, _not_ wearing his uniform for once. Which meant they'd probably slipped off for some... private time.

"So. I'll assume you didn't meet up with Kairi after..." Jade trailed off. "Why are you carrying around part of Alvess' monolith?"

"Because Alvess told me to."

Jade gave me the oddest look, and I shrugged. "Hey. Syal did the same thing. And yes, we did make a pit stop at Shurrey Hill and the Monolith of Syal. So... yeah."

"Was it such a good idea to make a second stop?" Tear asked. I grimaced.

"Well, we learned some stuff. I'd like to save it until we meet up with Kairi's group and... hopefully, Dark and Natalia's."

Tear nodded, apparently seeing the wisdom in that. "So we're leaving... How? And where to?"

"Eldrant, I assume," Jade said. Shadow weaved in that manner that said he was nodding.

"Yes. And while Luke attempts to contact Lorelei, I am going to try to find Myre."

I sighed. "Right."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** For whatever reason, I originally had Shadow ordering Luke to take them back to the Archives... and not two paragraphs later, Shadow takes them back himself. ...Talk about not noticing the obvious._


	20. Chapter 3-7 Part 20

_Update number two..._

* * *

'Because the spirit in the rock told you to... You're carrying around a rather large chunk of said rock because the spirit in it _told_ you to. Oh, Lorelei, I hope you know how crazy that sounds...' _-Jade_

 _"You find that rappig you were looking for?" -Reighn  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.7 - The Four Winds  
Part 20**

 **Jade's POV**

I slipped an arm around Evelyn's waist as we walked, and couldn't quite hold back the smile. She was happy. I was happy. Okay... maybe we should have been more focused on the war that we were going to have to fight soon, but for now, we were happy. So we weren't going to worry about everything else yet.

Except for...

Why were Reighn, Luke, Tear, and Anise _here_ when they'd gone out with Kairi and the Albiore III? Weren't they supposed to be in the Zao Desert?

"He will be coming for you, and while the Energy Wall protects the majority of the Archives from the blunt-force attacks that he favors, there are cracks."

I noted the dark figure in the center of the group then.

Shadow.

"I'm guessing that's how _you_ got in."

Reighn noticed me, and I finally spotted Tear. So she'd happened upon our... visitors... already.

"So. I'll assume you didn't meet up with Kairi after..." I stopped as I noticed just what the thing slung between Reighn and Luke was. "Why are you carrying around part of Alvess' monolith?" I asked. Because there was nothing else that golden crystal could possibly be.

"Because Alvess told me to."

I wasn't sure if there was an appropriate response to that.

' _Because the spirit in the rock told you to... You're carrying around a rather large chunk of said rock because the spirit in it_ told you to _. Oh, Lorelei, I hope you know how crazy that sounds...'_ I mused. Reighn just looked amused.

"Hey, Syal did the same thing. And yes, we did make a pit stop at Shurrey Hill and the Monolith of Syal. So... yeah."

I sighed quietly. What had they been thinking?! If they'd gotten held up...

"Was it such a good idea to make a second stop?" Tear asked, echoing my thoughts.

"Well, we learned some stuff. I'd like to save it until we meet up with Kairi's group and... hopefully, Dark and Natalia's."

Wait.

 _Hopefully_?

Oh no... Shadow had been saying Gnome couldn't get in yet because of the Energy Walls, but there were cracks, and how would they know we were _here_ unless...

"So we're leaving... How? And where to?" she asked.

"Eldrant, I assume." Seeing as how that was where Kairi had suggested back at the Isle of Feres.

"Yes," Shadow agreed. "And Luke attempts to contact Lorelei, I am going to try to find Myre." The multiple inflections in that tone said that he planned for himself, Myre, and Lorelei to help us evacuate the Archives.

"Right," Reighn murmured. Looked like he'd gotten it, too...

Evelyn—no, Cantabile again, I knew that hard glint in her eye—scowled. "Where's the Albiore II?"

"Should still be outside Grand Chokmah," Anise said. I noted Shadow slipping away while we weren't really paying attention. Looked like only Luke and Reighn had noticed as well. "And I don't think sending Luke to go get it would be a good idea," she added.

Luke shook his head. "Gnome was headed there. Natalia, Dark, Sync, Seth, and Sorylle are going to need it to get out," he said. He glanced at Reighn then at me. "Jade, can you take over here? I'm going to go talk to Emperor Peony, and then I'm gonna see how badly teleporting to Eldrant is gonna drain me."

I nodded and stepped over to grab the netting, and Luke was gone a moment later, racing down the hall almost faster than I'd expected. Then again, Luke could definitely move fast when he needed to.

"So... I'll ask again, since you didn't _really_ answer when Jade asked. Why are you carrying that around?" Cantabile asked, prodding the crystal in the netting. The rather _heavy_ crystal...

Reighn sighed. "Well... You know how the sword Kairi had was a part of Phaïe's monolith? Apparently the other monolith spirits thought that was a wonderful idea and... yeah. Syal volunteered a rather large chunk, and then Alvess told us to take _this_ one, so... Kairi's got her work cut out for her."

I chuckled. "Well... can't say our lives are boring. Let's go collect up the others... Well. Solace and Asch, at least. They'll need to know what's going on."

"Luke's probably already told Asch. Those two use the connection between their fonslots so often that there are times I wonder if they aren't telepathic," Anise said.

"I'll go get Solace. Should we meet back in the little side-cavern the emperor has been using as a meeting room?" Tear asked. I nodded.

"Yes."

Reighn hummed. "Well, you know your way around down here," he said. I nodded and started walking, Reighn next to me with the netting slung between us. He glanced down at the shard every few yards, and I sighed and glanced back. Anise, Cantabile, and Flick were a ways behind us...

"What's wrong?"

"The spirits of the monoliths. Remember what I said back in Tataroo Valley, that they're supposed to be summon spirits?" Reighn murmured. "But when I was talking to Syal, and later to Alvess... they referred to me as the Clan Head of _Myno_ 's Clan."

"Because your family guards the seal on Undine. Well. Guarded," I corrected myself. "Still, you bring up a good point."

"Unless..."

I glanced at Reighn, and noted the thoughtful look on his face.

"Unless?"

"Alvess said that once we had a shard from each monolith, they'd teach us something. You think...?"

I nodded. "It's very possible. So... Phaïe's monolith is covered. Syal's..."

"Back on the Albiore III. And we've got the piece of Alvess' monolith right here... Shadow said we're not ready to go get Yda's yet. I'm thinking that might be the last one we get... We do still need to find Havaam though."

"Havaam, and Myno. Though, given that Myno's monolith should be under a seal north of Mt. Roneal, we'll be alright putting that off for the time being..." I trailed off as we reached Peony's meeting room, and I glanced around. All of the higher-ups of the military, Luke, a reluctant-looking Asch, Solace, Tear... Looked like Reighn, Anise, Flick, Cantabile and myself were the last to arrive.

I glanced at Luke and Asch. Had they already...?

"We'll only be able to take about fifteen people at a time," Luke started. "And even then, I don't think I'll be able to manage more than five jumps before I'll have to stop and rest."

"Luke's better at this than I am, so we're not going to be able to do this probably as quickly as we need to," Asch said.

"You don't have to do it alone."

I jumped a bit and turned around. Myre. Myre had randomly decided to join us, and I don't think any of us noticed her until she announced her presence rather bluntly.

She stepped forward and crossed her arms. "With the two Albiores both a good distance away, one across the world, you'll need all the help you can get."

I glanced at Reighn, and we sat the piece of Alvess' monolith down. Then he crossed his arms.

"You find that rappig you were looking for?"

...Excuse me?

Myre gave him a sour look. "Yes. Back on topic please."

Reighn looked vaguely amused, I noted. So did Peony.

"Alright... We need to estimate how many people we can move at a shot," I started.

Luke hummed. "I can take about fifteen people, and can make five trips at a shot. That's... what? Seventy-five people?"

Yes. And some rather quick math for someone who never showed much aptitude for it previously.

"I'm not sure how many trips I can make," Asch said.

"Theoretically, you should be able to make more than Luke," Myre noted. Then she frowned and muttered something about panic attacks that I don't think anyone else heard. Except maybe Reighn, because he was giving her an odd look now.

"I do know I can't take as many people as Luke can, though," Asch said. "Not without some practice. Luke was trained to use his hyperresonance on a large scale. Van, and later Kairi, both taught me to work with the details."

Which explained why Asch should be able to make more trips than Luke. He wouldn't be _wasting_ any extra energy in transporting the citizens like Luke would.

Though, how Myre knew that, I wasn't sure. I also wasn't sure I wanted to know what panic attacks had to do with anything.

"Myre?" Reighn prompted.

"You saw how large I can make a circle. The larger the circle, the more energy I waste. It doesn't matter how many people you can get inside the circle, it's creating and activating it that exhausts me," she said. "I could probably pull off three really large circles before I'd have to take a break. They get to a point where they stop taking more energy out of me, and if I can use the larger circles, I can transport a _lot_ of people all at once."

"You'll probably also have to rest longer between runs, though," Luke pointed out. Myre scowled.

"I'll do what I have to."

The way she said that...

I worried for her. Because that tone of voice was one I heard rather often from soldiers who'd been on the front lines far too long. Myre was a warrior, and didn't have a choice in it. And she wasn't going to give up, either.

Which meant she was just as likely to burn herself out as to be an asset. Still, with the way things were going, any help we could get would be nice.

"So... Luke's estimating seventy-five per shot... Asch?"

The original shook his head. "I'm not going to know for sure until we start."

Myre was giving him an unimpressed look, but didn't seem to care.

"And... Myre? You said you can take as many people as you can fit into one of your circles?" Peony continued. She nodded.

"Depending on how tight they're willing to group in, I can get upwards of a hundred or more at a go," she said. I nodded.

"As big as that circle in Grand Chokmah was, you can probably get most of the women and children out in five or six runs," I said. She nodded.

"Alright. Tear, Solace, Anise, Flick, Reighn, Jade? Can you all start getting things organized? Women and children first, of course," Peony said. I nodded, and noted that he had the other military leaders doing the same not a moment later.

Which was how I ended up with a group of mothers, children, and one Aslan Frings.

"Jade!"

I groaned and let the little girl I'd been carrying down to follow after her caretaker. An orphan, but she was a pretty brave little one, I had to admit...

Once the children were out of earshot, I gave Aslan a sour look. "Now isn't really the time, Aslan."

"I know. I still want to say it, preferably before we get killed. What happened to Ari isn't your fault."

I looked away. Yes, it was.

"Jade..."

"We've got work to do," I said bluntly, walking off into the crowds and letting everyone know, as gently as possible, that we were moving again. A lot of the mothers, especially those who were currently pregnant, looked irritated, but the mention of Gnome being the sentience of earth had a lot of them looking at the cavern ceiling over our heads and then ushering their children along.

I didn't like to think about what had happened to Ari, because while no one blamed me... It was my fault for creating fomicry in the first place.

Then again, as I spotted short red hair in the crowd, I knew that I didn't really want that to be the way I thought of fomicry.

Yes. A replica army had killed one of the few men I could call my friend. Avarice Miles was dead, there was nothing that could be done about that.

And no, I didn't really care much for Apathy, his replica.

But... Ari wouldn't have blamed me for creating the technology that built the army that killed him, either.

Actually, I found myself chuckling as I moved among the harried citizens of Grand Chokmah, Ari would have been grumbling about me being a slowpoke and missing out on all the action, had he lived.

Though, really, between him and Kairi... Well. I wasn't sure whether to be irritated that he hadn't lived, or somewhat grateful. Kairi ribbing me for being late would have been bad enough. Dealing with both of them...

"You're laughing."

"No, I'm not." Truth, I wasn't laughing. I wasn't even chuckling anymore.

"Jade Balfour, you are grinning like a loon, which is the closest equivalent you have to laughing. What's so funny?"

I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. I chuckled. "Oh, nothing."

Evelyn crossed her arms, and I knew I'd already lost. But there was no reason I couldn't keep trying to push my luck. "Jade..."

"Nothing. Just lost in the past."

"Uh-huh. What part of the past?"

I just smiled and moved on to the next group, Evelyn following me stubbornly. Though, the softness she displayed around the children was just astounding.

Well. I'd seen it around one other child before.

Sync.

I smiled at her, and thought about what Ryndor had said again.

Maybe... maybe I shouldn't hold off as long as I'd planned on it. With the way Gnome was after us, and the sort of hardness Myre displayed... We probably wouldn't have as much time as I'd like. I wanted to give it a bit more time before I went that far, but...

We didn't have forever.

So... I'd have to figure out what to do about a ring.

But maybe later. Because I had work to do.

Evelyn and I stepped back as Myre stepped into the middle of the crowd. Her quickly-becoming-familiar Energy Circle appeared, and spread, and we had to move further away or risk going along with the first group.

The first group that numbered _well_ over a hundred.

Myre took the first group, and then three people returned about ten minutes later.

Luke, Asch, and Myre, who, indeed, looked a little less sturdy than she did when she left.

Asch took the next group, and returned almost fifteen minutes later, looking shaken.

Myre had said something about panic attacks... did doing this frighten him?

Luke went next, and ended up coming back not even three minutes after disappearing. He then made a beeline to Asch's side, and I saw the way Asch nearly blew up at him.

I sighed and glanced at Evelyn.

"Leave this to me. You go deal with your future brother-in-law."

I hummed, nodded, and headed over to Asch and Luke, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Luke. Why don't you start running groups? If there's enough space wherever you're landing on Eldrant, I'd like to get as many of these people out of here as possible."

Luke nodded.

Asch turned away.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Not-so-subtle foreshadowing in this chapter. And Asch really, _ really _doesn't like using his hyperresonance like that._


	21. Chapter 3-8 Part 21

_Okay, so apparently Camp NaNo means 'cannot update on time'. So sorry for the wait. Tea is kicking my butt into posting (as literally as she can when she's in the timezone just ahead of mine) as I prep this for posting.  
_

 _Also, I'm sure all of you are going to hate me by the end of this chapter._

* * *

 _Good grief. If I thought I hated Mohs, Gnome was quickly wriggling up right next to the bastard. -Dark_

 _"No, I picked it up from Sorylle. Since she used it rather often around Mohs, I thought it might be appropriate now." -Natalia_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.8 - The Four Winds  
Part 21**

 **Dark's POV**

Ifrit looked panicked. Natalia was panicking. Sync and Seth were exhausted from one thing or another, and now we had a big... _thing_ to deal with.

It looked like some sort of an animal, but I wasn't sure what exactly, and given that Gnome was outright glaring at us, I didn't really care. I just wanted to get my ass out of there.

I glanced back at Ifrit, who was creeping backwards through the alley. He was as cowed by his brother as the rest of us were.

Sync was the first to move, running for Ifrit and dragging the currently-human-shaped sentience off with him. Though, how Ifrit had taken that form, I wasn't sure. I just knew that Sync had the right idea, and we desperately needed to run.

Gnome roared in anger and started spewing something I didn't understand. Sounded like cursing to me, though, and that was more than enough.

"Get back to the Albiore!" I yelled, hoping Sync had heard. If we could get Ifrit out of here...

Hell. If any of us could get out of here, I'd be happy.

"There is no hiding from me! You may have von the battle for the lives of these maggots for now, but I vill find vere you have hidden them!" Gnome yelled. I did my best to ignore him, even as falling debris separated me from Natalia. We had to get back to the Albiores...

"Sorylle, go with her!" I called.

Sorylle's path changed, racing after Natalia now.

"Run, run, like the insects you are..."

Good grief. If I thought I hated Mohs, Gnome was quickly wriggling up right next to the bastard.

I shook that out of my head and kept running.

At least until the mass of second fonons suddenly condensed in front of me. I ended up sliding a ways as I came to an abrupt halt, and the man that appeared had me backing up. Pale skin, dark brown hair cut short, and dangerously-flashing golden-brown eyes.

Gnome could take a human form as well.

I took a couple steps back.

Gnome was singling me out. Why?

"You are all so very small... and useless."

I kept backing up. I had space, best not to let Gnome too close.

"Vhat do you think she vould vant vith you, hm?" he asked. The clothing he wore looked vaguely like a military uniform, and the way he stepped reminded me so much of Jade... if Jade were actually the evil, take-over-the-world sort that he sometimes pretended to be.

There was a vast difference between pretend and reality.

I swallowed. "Who?" Stall, have to stall, if the others get out alive, I've succeeded...

"The princess. You know I've seen a love story like yours before," Gnome continued, even as I bumped into the corner of a building. I dared a glance back at the road I'd been aiming for, then looked at Gnome again.

He'd stopped about two yards away from me. "Yeah?" I asked.

Gnome looked almost nostalgic. In the way the worst sorts of villains remembered the reason _why_ they became villains. I started cursing in my mind.

"Vhy vould she vant you, hm? She is a princess, and there is no shortage of young noblemen for her to choose from. So... vhy the assassin?" Gnome looked amused. "It must have been amusing, playing the part of the loyal pet. But really. Vhen the time comes, _if_ it comes, vith the future I have planned, she vill not keep you. She vill choose another."

My heart screamed at him. My mind reminded me that he was likely just trying to twist the facts.

And there was something they could both agree on.

"If Natalia falls in love with another man, I'll stand by and let her go with my blessing," I said. "But I will never abandon her."

Gnome still looked amused. "Do you truly believe you can have the happily ever after meant for a prince?"

I smirked. "Nah. No such thing as happily ever after. I'm not chasing a fairytale."

Gnome chuckled. "Indeed you are not." He immediately lashed out, and I dipped and spun, one White Lotus chakram flying toward Gnome, the other spinning in a block against the odd brown blast he'd thrown at me.

Then I started running again, and didn't look back. I couldn't. I had to get out of the city, out of Grand Chokmah.

I didn't make it far before I heard voices, and slowed down, because one was so very familiar that I didn't dare just race past.

The other was the sentience I had just run away from.

"Vhat do you think he expects of you, hm?"

I rolled my eyes. Oh, _gods_. Did he really think Natalia would doubt me where I hadn't doubted her?

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The assassin... you toy vith him, let him think he has a chance. Vhy bother?"

"What?! I don't—mandragora-fucker."

I held back the snort, grateful for two things. First, Ingobert couldn't speak liger. Second, he wasn't here to ask me to translate what he daughter had just called Gnome.

"My, my, vhat a dirty vord. Did he teach you that?"

"No, I picked it up from Sorylle. Since she used it rather often around Mohs, I thought it might be appropriate now."

I gave in and grinned. Yeah, that's my princess. Spunky, stubborn, and not at all impressed with assholes.

Gnome sighed. "So it seems ve have an impasse. You do not see the dangerous game you are playing... and your little assassin friend vill take the fall for it. I am almost tempted to let the two of you live, just to vatch this play out, to prove that I was correct. History is very fond of repeating itself, you see..."

I stepped out of the alley, White Lotus chakrams swinging loosely, almost casually. "I'm not sure what you're expecting to happen, but it won't."

"No? So confident," Gnome said mockingly. "But perhaps you can spare yourself the pain the soldier felt vhen _his_ princess betrayed him, hm?"

I growled, nothing more than a warning.

"Kill her."

"Never," I hissed back.

"So be it. I vill do it instead."

But Natalia was already running, out of his line of sight and hopefully safer than me.

Gnome made a gesture, like he was pulling on something, and the buildings around the alley Natalia had run down collapsed.

I panicked for a moment when I heard Natalia scream, but the panic faded away quickly into amusement.

Gnome didn't know her like I did. He took the bait, not knowing the difference between a fearful scream, a pained scream, and a half-faked scream.

Natalia was afraid. For herself, for me, I wasn't sure. But Gnome hadn't hurt her. And that was the important part.

Gnome turned back to me, apparently quite pleased with himself, and I carefully pulled out the emotionless mask I'd been keeping tucked away since meeting Natalia. He smiled, a false smile meant to make the recipient relax. I'd seen it so often on Jade's face, but now... Now I didn't trust it.

"There. See? It is done."

I tightened my grip on my chakrams and got ready to run. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what Gnome had planned for me.

He held out his hand, a glowing, dark gold ball hovering over his palm. "Come. I vill give you peace."

I eyed the glowing ball, then shook my head. "Over my dead body."

The ball disappeared, and Gnome sighed. "That can be arranged also."

He reached for the building behind me, like he had when he'd brought the ones around Natalia down, and I leapt forward, throwing one chakram at him. I had two escape paths left, but the one behind him was more open than the one I'd come through.

Getting around Gnome was going to be the tricky part, and he seemed to know it.

"O embodiment of anger, descend!"

I grinned. Good choice, Seth.

"Wyvern!"

Gnome hissed at the third-fonon arte, and I managed to slip past him, over toward where Seth had Blood Lily out and at the ready. We didn't stick around long, turning and running as soon as we had a chance. I glanced over at him as we ran. "We've got to get out of here. Have you seen Sorylle?"

"No. No Sorylle, no Sync, no Natalia, and no Ifrit."

I growled a rather long string of curses that thankfully took the space of only about ten seconds. Sometimes I really loved the liger language.

"Dark, Seth!"

I glanced over my shoulder. Well, that's Natalia and Sorylle.

Natalia jumped down from Sorylle's back the moment she could, and ran alongside us. "Are you okay, Dark?"

"Yeah. Nice job with the scream. You definitely fooled him."

"I'm not sure it'll work next time though," Natalia noted, glancing back. I looked back as well, and realized that the giant burrowing animal was back. Gnome snarled at us when he spotted us.

"You vill all perish!"

I growled a couple of insults, but kept running. Natalia, Seth, and Sorylle seemed to have decided that was best as well. That was when the shaking started. Sorylle stumbled, but was able to keep going, while Natalia lost her balance altogether. I dropped back to help her to her feet. Seth ran on ahead, seemingly determined to get to the Albiore as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Seth, go, tell Noelle to get ready to take off!" I shouted. We were close now, so very close...

I caught sight of Sync and Ifrit, also running through the streets and trying to keep their balance. I glanced at Natalia, then ran over to help them. Natalia had figured it out. Ifrit was clumsy, unable to keep his balance at all, and Sync was practically dragging him.

I ran up behind them, looped one of Ifrit's arms over my shoulder, and kept moving. Sync shot me a grateful look, but didn't thank me just yet, even as an unnatural boulder landed in the street next to us, cracking the pavement.

Sync very nearly ran straight into the crevice, but Ifrit pulled away from me and shoved him to the side, to safety.

Then he turned to Gnome, and the fire in his eyes was unmistakable, mostly due to the fact that it was _literal_ fire in his eyes. Gnome had aimed for that boulder to land on us. And now Ifrit was pissed, and the fire was spreading. A moment later, the human shape was gone, and in its place was the 'demon' who'd attacked the night of the festival.

"Vhat nonsense is this?! Ifrit!"

"Leave 'em alone, Gnome!" Ifrit yelled, moving to attack the large animal that was Gnome.

The shaking of the earth beneath our feet didn't stop, but it did lessen, which made it easier for us to run as I hauled Sync back to his feet. He was smaller and faster than I was, but kept glancing back, kept slowing himself down.

"If I cannot kill them myself, I vill let them kill themselves!" I heard Gnome say.

I dared to glance back just in time to see what looked like a giant version of the glowy gold ball from earlier headed for my back.

"Dark, look out!"

I didn't have time to react. Sync shoved me, and the glowing orb hit him instead.

Sync's face screwed up in pain, and he hit the ground, one leg still under him, and head bowed. He moved as if to get up, but didn't, arms simply shaking like they couldn't support his weight.

"Sync? Sync!"

He groaned and I started to shift him, intending to pick him up. I'd carry his ass out of here if I had to.

Half-closed, cloudy green eyes suddenly snapped wide open, except they weren't green anymore. They were brown, and pupil-less, and unnatural. And what Gnome had said...

I jumped back from the boy who had been my friend, but was now my enemy. But I didn't move fast enough, because the fire in my side told me Sync had gotten me with one of his daggers.

Sorylle's Ice Stream gave me a chance to get to my feet and start running, but I could already feel something in my veins...

Oh no.

"Sorylle..."

"Poison!"

"I know..." I murmured, stumbling as I moved to her side. She dropped low enough for me to swing my leg over.

I couldn't flush out poison like Kairi, Asch, Sync, and Jade could. I'd never been taught...

But Natalia had. She'd flushed the poison out of Luke's system when they'd nearly been killed in Baticul.

"Natalia."

Sorylle growled an acknowledgement back, and ran faster. I dared to glance back. Gnome and Ifrit were still fighting, though it was obvious that Ifrit was the weaker party. I hoped he'd hold his own long enough for us to escape.

Sync was racing after us, one hand still holding a bloodied Black Rose dagger. I grimaced as my side started to go numb. Me. That could have been me...

Jade and I had talked about how the poison worked, one time. I'd actually cut myself on one of the White Lotus chakrams purposefully, and let Jade flush out the poison.

First the fire spread. Then everything started to go numb. Then vision started to fade.

We'd learned from Van, Legretta, and Zion that once you passed out, you had about two minutes to live.

Theoretically, longer, but with my heart racing as it was from adrenaline and trying to escape Gnome...

"Dark?!"

Natalia had noticed I was riding Sorylle. I looked past her head and hissed. Anything more than about twenty feet away was blurrier than it should have been.

I was running out of time...

I glanced back. Sync had either fallen behind, or been called off. I wasn't sure either way, and wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Dark?! What's wrong?!"

I turned my head to look at Natalia too quickly, and the entire world spun around, forcing me to close my eyes to force down the nausea.

I almost didn't want to open them again. That I felt so tired, to tempted, scared me.

I wasn't ready to die.

I forced my eyes open again.

Tunnel vision... but at least I could see the Albiore.

"Guys?"

Noelle... That was Noelle...

"Get it in air, we need the Albiore in the air, Dark's poisoned!"

Seth...

I looked over at Natalia, who was giving the gash down my side a worried look. Then the worried look faded, replaced by determination.

The moment we were in the Albiore, Natalia was sliding me off Sorylle's back. I didn't feel the impact with the ground, though I knew I should have.

"Dark, stay with me, I have to go onto the second plane... Dark... Dark?!"

Damn it...

I didn't want to die...

"...Love you..."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Yup. So that's how the poison on the flower weapons works. Also kinda came back to something from Chapter 1.1.  
_

 _-steps back and hides in an over-large turtle shell- And now I shall stay here until Friday._


	22. Chapter 3-9 Part 22

_-from inside an over-large turtle shell- So here's the second update that was due back on the 22nd. All yours._

* * *

 _"They're attracted to Kairi." -Shadow_

 _"Sorry for the wind! Didn't immediately realize you weren't a dragon." -Sylph_

 _"I need someone to man the second terminal while I'm down here. Jade at least understands the majority of my buffy-speak when my brain starts spazzing." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 3.9 - The Four Winds  
Part 22**

I sighed and finally closed down the passage ring. "Well. There's nothing else I can do here. We should head back to the Albiore. If Reighn and the others aren't waiting for us, we'll do a flyover of the area and see if we can find them. I think between Reighn's blue hair and Flick's purple, they ought to stand out."

Saphir grimaced, and I gave him a wary look. He threw his hands in the air. "Don't look at me!" I crossed my arms, and he slumped. "Well, see... Ah... Shadow says we need to go straight to Eldrant. He's already taken Reighn and the others to the Archives to warn them that they need to evacuate. By the time we get to Eldrant, there will already be a few hundred refugees there."

I narrowed my eyes at him. This was either an elaborate scheme to get me to help him out, or he was telling the truth, in which case, we needed to move as quickly as possible so I could get the fomicry machines and everything working the way they were supposed to be.

I glanced at the others and decided to take a chance. "Alright. Eldrant it is then."

Guy looked a bit surprised at my choice, but Rialle didn't.

Selenia just looked worried, and I didn't blame her. Sync was in Grand Chokmah, where we knew Gnome was headed. They'd have to get to the Albiore II before they could get away, and if Gnome got to them first...

I was as worried as she was.

Sync, who was my little brother in all but blood.

Dark, who'd been my friend since I'd landed on Auldrant practically.

Natalia, Dark's girlfriend, and the princess of Kimlasca. Asch was the next in line for that throne, and to be honest, I wanted nothing to do with any sort of throne.

Seth, who _was_ my little brother. Jade's replica, but definitely not much like his original.

And that brought my mind back to Reighn and the others. Because Flick had been with them, and while neither Seth nor Flick really seemed interested in each other in that way yet, there was an obvious spark between them.

Flick was crazy, hyperactive, and had the attention span of a teaspoon.

Seth was calm, had a tendency to over think, but was always watching out for everyone. Especially Flick.

I wanted to see those two grow up so badly... and I knew that time was running out. Because we had to move fast. Had to stop the sentiences from destroying everything...

This wasn't going to be easy, I knew. But we'd pull it off somehow.

I started leading the way away from the passage ring, and the others followed. Our group of four now up to five with the addition of a strangely-competent Saphir, I doubted that we'd encounter much trouble on the way out.

I really should stop assuming things. Really. Because to assume is to make an ass out of u and me, and in this case, it makes us targets.

Because I'd let my guard down.

Five eggbears. Once again, I knew that we were outmatched. One on one just wasn't something we could stand up against, and I wasn't sure I could taint Twilight's Requiem again.

So I was beyond relieved when Shadow chose right then to show up.

"Focus on that one," he ordered me, pointing to the eggbear heckling Rialle. Right. Our healer.

I went after it with prejudice, and didn't even notice whatever Shadow had done to the eggbear _I'd_ been fighting.

These may have been weaker than the ones at Shurrey Hill. But they were still a struggle to defeat.

And while Shadow and Selenia finished off their enemies quickly enough, Guy, Saphir and I were having problems.

Which was why Rialle standing back and letting loose with an arte she kept calling 'Calendula'. It was pretty, and formed an awful lot like a flower under our feet.

It worked, at least, and seemed to be about as potent as Natalia's Cures. Or close, at least.

One of the eggbears smacked Saphir a few feet away, and even from here, I could see that those claw marks had been poisoned. Damn, I didn't think I had any panacea bottles on me...

"Oh, jeez," Rialle murmured as Selenia took over attacking Saphir's eggbear and Shadow moved to help Guy. "Cleanse the infection! Echinacea!"

Huh. Rialle had a thing for flowers, didn't she?

I brought my eggbear down around the same time the other two went down, and Shadow immediately moved over to Saphir.

"You need to be more careful," the sentience scolded. Saphir gave him a sheepish look.

"They didn't bother me on the way down."

"They're attracted to Kairi."

"Oh, thanks," I grumbled. "Come on, we've still got a ways to go."

Shadow wobbled around a bit. "Come here. I'll take you back to the Albiore III. You need to return to Eldrant as quickly as possible... I'm going to try to find Lorelei."

"Did you ask Asch or Luke to try to contact him?"

The blob-ish shape that was Shadow went very, very still for a moment.

"Thank you for the suggestion," he said finally. I snorted. Answer: no.

Rialle giggled as she skipped over, and Selenia gave the other brunette a sour look. Guy just shook his head at the two of them.

One moment, we were in the Zao Ruins.

The next, the darkness went away to reveal that we were in the cockpit of the Albiore III.

Shadow vanished the next moment.

"Alright, Guy, Selenia, go make sure the covers are off the engines. Rialle, find Ginji. Saphir... pick a seat, sit, and don't distract me."

He chuckled and did so, and it wasn't long before Ginji ran onto the bridge. "How'd you guys get back so fast?!" he asked. "And why are we leaving without the other group?"

I sighed as I ran the last pre-flight diagnostics. This tended to only take a few moments, but Ginji had said we were supposed to do it a bit more thoroughly than he and Noelle usually did. Their solution was running the _full_ diagnostics when they had the chance, and just running partials when we needed to get in the air, _fast_.

"Reighn and the others got picked up by Shadow and taken back to the Archives so they could start evacuating. Gnome knows Dark and the others are in Grand Chokmah; I'm hoping they get out before everything goes to hell in a handbasket up there."

"And I'm guessing Shadow came back to bring you up here faster?"

"Yup."

"Alright, engines are clear!" Guy called as he ran in with the two girls. I nodded and started up the Albiore. "Up we go, then. They need us at Eldrant."

It didn't take very long to get the Albiore in the air, nor did I waste time pointing us straight north toward Chesedonia, Tataroo Valley, and the barely-visible form of the floating citadel that was Eldrant.

We had to get there quickly, and hope that the winds wouldn't be against us too much.

Flying over the desert was easy. It wasn't until we got just north of Tataroo Valley that I started to realize there could be problems. It only took the second strong gust of wind for me to pull myself half onto the second plane.

That was when I realized what the problem was. "Uh... Guy? You're the Clan head of Gardios, and Gardios were the guardians of the seal on Sylph, right?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

I forced a small laugh. "Yeah, well, Sylph's definitely free, and if she pushes us any harder, we're not going to make it to Eldrant," I said, watching the massive mass of _green_ flying around.

Saphir cursed softly, and I glanced back to see his eyes closed. I turned my attention back to Sylph. "I don't think praying is gonna help us," I said, turning slightly so I could fly an arc around Eldrant. See if that would get Sylph to stop buffeting us so hard...

Sylph flew overhead, seemed to shiver, and then the mass of fonons that was the sentience of wind rushed toward us. No time to turn, but I didn't need to, because the next thing I knew, there was a three-foot-tall fairy fluttering in the air right in Guy's face.

He yelped and scrambled backwards, and I knew it was a combination of shock from Sylph suddenly materializing and the gynophobia that he was still trying to work his way past.

Sylph giggled. "Hi!"

Guy didn't reply immediately, but when he did, it was a blunt 'hello' in return.

Sylph looked around, realized I was the one piloting the Albiore, and flew backwards toward me. Neat trick that... "Sorry for the wind! Didn't immediately realize you weren't a dragon."

...Really?

Rialle busted up giggling behind us, and even Saphir made a choking noise that I knew meant he'd tried and failed to hold back laughter.

I sighed. "There's not a lot of dragons around anymore, Sylph," I stated.

"Really? That's sad. Dragons are fun to play with, but they like Ifrit more than they like me, so since Shadow said he wasn't sure if Ifrit had picked a side yet, I figured I better keep the dragons away, but since you're _not_ a dragon, I don't have to keep you away."

I bit my lip.

Between the faint Australian accent and the bad habit of rambling... Gods, Sylph was just so _cute_.

And Rialle was _still_ giggling.

Sylph seemed to notice. "What's so funny...?"

I sighed. "Sylph, sweetie, you're adorable. And apparently Rialle thinks you're funny."

Sylph was quiet for a moment, and I had a bad feeling...

I set the autopilot to keep up flying straight, because—

Sylph tackle-hugged me, and I was glad I'd taken my hands off the controls already. "That's the nicest thing a human's said to me in... in... a long time!"

I sighed and patted the poor girl on the back of her head. "Sylph... You're adorable, and a sweetheart, but can I please fly? You can hug me all you want once I've got the Albiore on the ground."

Sylph pulled away, blinked up at me with wide eyes, then grinned. "Okay!"

The next moment she was gone, and I sighed again before taking the Albiore off autopilot and heading for Eldrant. We hadn't been able to land inside when we'd assaulted it because of the anti-air fire, but that had been disabled, so that meant I should be able to land somewhere on the replicated Hod.

The moment I flew over the replicated land, I realized that Saphir was right. There were already refugees down below, and as I watched, a golden glow deposited another dozen or so, with short red hair right in the center of all of it.

I smiled. Luke. Using the teleportation trick Lorelei had taught him to transport citizens faster.

Where I landed was the same place where you fight Van in the game, I was sure... but I'd never been this far before. I'd never made it to the replicated land before. I'd been captured before we could get that far.

Saphir was on his feet and leaving even before I got the Albiore shut down.

Ginji still couldn't fly yet, and I had work to do, and Guy wasn't taking to flying the Albiores as easily as I had.

I got off myself the moment I could, and headed after Saphir. The passage ring, needed to check the passage ring...

The moment I spotted the two fonstones and the machine that wrapped around them, I scowled. Right. Eldrant was weird and worked around _two_ fonstones as opposed to the usual one.

And that meant there were two terminals as well.

I glanced at the two fonstones. Light and dark... except that dark one seemed to be the larger of the two.

So.

I headed for the terminal on the lower floor, noting that Saphir was already there, terminal open and scowling once again because, like with at the Zao Ruins, he was blocked by my passwords. I basically shoved him out of the way and got to work, busting through locks and bringing up my now-favorite keyboard almost faster than he could watch.

"Alright. What are we doing?" I asked, trying to work out the way all of the machinery of Eldrant was linked to the passage ring. That was about when I realized that I wouldn't have much of a choice. "Oh, damn, damn, damn."

"You know, I really don't like it when you start cursing like that."

I didn't glance over my shoulder at Asch. Didn't have to.

"Go get Jade. Saphir won't understand half of my rambling," I ordered.

There was silence for a second, then the familiar hum that meant hyperresonance. Good. Asch had gone...

"What's wrong?" Saphir asked.

"The way this passage ring is set up. I need someone to man the second terminal while I'm down here. Jade at least understands the majority of my buffy-speak when my brain starts spazzing."

"What's buffy-speak?" Anise asked. I huff.

"You ever get to talking about something, find yourself unable to remember a word you know for a moment, and end up saying something like 'it connects to the thing' just so you can keep going?"

"Yeah."

"That's buffy-speak. One of my friends is a master of it, to the point where I sometimes get to translate something like 'you know that person from that one movie who did the thing and ended up really famous?' And I'm rather good at it, seeing as how everybody else tends to just look at her like she's lost her mind."

"Like you have?"

"Shut up and get your ass to the second level," I grumbled. "I know I'm insane, you don't need to remind me... Okay, I think I've got everything opened..."

"Good heavens. This is a _mess_."

"I don't think Van was trying to make it all nice and pretty," I replied.

Saphir winced. "Half of this was my fault. Van barely had a hand in it."

"Saphir, I really don't think you came up with half of this. My guess is, Van told you to do something, you added it, and then realized later it didn't quite want to work that way..."

"Unfortunately."

"Yeah, see? I blame Van. Jade, the fomicry machines! We're gonna have to redirect power to get this straightened out, shut 'em down for the moment," I ordered, already shutting down whatever I could from below. We needed everything except the anti-grav tech offline.

Then I could worry about re-routing everything.

Jade hummed. "Watch out for the—"

"I see it..." I grumbled, opening a bypass so I wouldn't over-charge the generators.

"This is going to take us hours, you know that, right?"

I shot Jade a glare. "Shut up and work."

Saphir chuckled.

"You too, smartass."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** So we have it. Shadow's a bit of a space-case and Sylph is just plain adorable. Guess she has to be though. 'Cause while Rem _looks _cute, the sixth fonon sentience is my absolute least favorite of my antagonist lineup. Undine has her redeeming qualities and Gnome... Gnome is Gnome, and while being a complete and total jerkass, I kinda get_ why _he's a complete and total jerkass. Rem's just an annoying little brat that refuses to cooperate._


	23. Chapter 4-1 Part 23

_-peeks out of turtle shell- ...No comments about what I did to Dark...? Huh. Well, I suppose the second double-update to get us all caught up will suffice as an apology for leaving everyone hanging for four days._

 _Also, I've got enough chapters finished right now to last me mostly through October, which is excellent, because I'm trying to finish the first draft of one of my Transformers stories before October 22nd. The final update I'll be able to do currently is October 21st, and since I know I'll also be writing on AEtT some while I'm plugging away at TMTC, there shouldn't be any skips in updates until the distraction-from-updating-demon called NaNoWriMo strikes again in November. All good news, I'm sure._

 _Now for some more good news... Enjoy!_

* * *

 _*An admittedly very baffled me.* -Jade_

 _"Wait, his mind is healthy?" -Asch_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.1 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 23**

I sighed. I wasn't sure who was leaning on who more—me on Jade, or Jade on me.

Which might explain why Saphir was right behind the both of us.

Jade had been right. It had taken us hours—nearly four of them—to get all of the machines reprogrammed, and all of the energy redirected to where it needed to be. Not to mention me fiddling with the passage ring as we went.

So to put it plainly, we were spent.

"Kairi?"

I glanced up. Seth.

"Hey, kiddo. Where're the others?"

Seth gestured for me to follow him, and I did. I didn't even think about it, really. I was too tired to think.

We found what looked like it had been a shop at one point, and I noted the cots sitting around. Jade made a beeline for one that didn't already have bags or equipment next to or underneath it, and I snorted. Yeah, sleep sounded good to me, too.

"You okay?"

I glanced up at Asch, nodded, and started glancing around for another open cot, only for Asch to basically drag me over to one. I sat down, propped my elbows on my knees, and simply sat like that for a long few moments. Then I glanced up, because there'd been something in Asch's expression that worried me.

Concern for me, exhaustion, both physical and mental, and... Grief.

"What happened?"

Asch grimaced. "Get some rest. We'll tell you both when you wake up," he said, voice softer than usual. I frowned, but laid down anyway.

Usually, I have to lay there for a good half hour before I actually fall asleep.

It's a rare thing when my head hits the pillow and I'm gone.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _I glanced around, then took a deep breath. Gods, I loved the TimeStream... The red-violet sky, the blue-violet grasses..._

 _I smiled as I walked around. This place was as amazing as always, and even if I'd somehow ended up on the plains instead of in one of the mountainous areas for once, that was fine, too._

" _You!"_

 _I turned, spotting the girl immediately. How could I not, when she stood out against the red-blue-violet backdrop so much?_

 _White-blonde hair, matching eyes, pale skin, a white and gold dress._

 _The girl scowled. "Why can't I push you back?!"_

 _I frowned. Push me back...?_

 _That was when I realized the need to return to my body._

 _Preferably before Rem figured out how to send my Energy Core back to Earth._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

"Kairi?!"

I ignored Asch's startled exclamation, long, even strides taking me straight into what had once been a temple. Two large, semi-circular tables formed a broken circle, one I strode straight through. Because the person I was looking for was slumped against the wall on the far side of the room.

Silence descended in the room, and if half of its occupants vacated it, I didn't immediately notice.

"Where is he?!"

He looked up at me, then let his head drop. "Gnome did something. Sync... It's like he's not even there anymore. Like..."

"Like a puppet, with Gnome pulling the strings."

I whirled around to glare at Myre, who'd been to one to state that so monotonously. "You've seen this?"

She looked guilty. "Yes."

"And you couldn't have been bothered to mention it."

She turned and walked away, the light that shone not long after leaving the room telling me that she was gone again. That was fine.

"I'm sorry."

I forced the tension out of my shoulders. "No. It's not your fault." I turned to look at the young man against the wall again. "If Natalia had a hair's less skill with healing, we'd have lost you too, Dark."

Which was about when I noticed that the room wasn't completely silent anymore.

I glanced at Natalia.

So did just about everyone else.

At which point, she promptly stopped humming and turned a bright shade of red.

But that was exactly what I wanted her to _not_ do. Because I'd recognized that song.

"Natalia... Where did you hear that?" I asked. She blinked at me.

"Sync was humming it off and on since you guys left with Lorelei to get the Albiores."

"Hum it again."

"Um..."

I gave her a look, and she did. I felt something like ice running down my back, because I'd been right.

"Hoist the Colors..." I murmured. "Definitely outside the usual range of..." I trailed off and thought about it.

If Doppel could exist on Auldrant, she'd have a slightly different fonon frequency from me.

How many times had Asch commented on how close my fonon frequency was to Sync's? And if you tweaked mine some...

"Doppel's making me look like a fucking idiot..."

"Okay, care to explain for those of us who aren't telepathic?" Jade asked. I sighed.

"Doppel. She and Sync are isofons, like Luke and Asch. Every once in a while, something Doppel's listening to will start filtering through Sync's head. It's how he learned so damn many Earth songs," I said, glancing around. "That one, Hoist the Colors, is _not_ on my usual playlist. Which means Doppel not only figured it out, she's trying to use the connection between her and Sync to give us hints."

"One problem—Sync isn't exactly available," Luke pointed out.

"No. But that doesn't mean she can't still help. If Doppel listens to the same song over and over and over again, Sync will start humming it without thinking. Puppet or not, I doubt that will change. And all _I_ need is the melody," I said. "And think I've already figured this one out..." I paused, then shrugged. _"T_ _he king and his men stole the queen from her bed... and bound her in her bones. The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam~"_

It took a moment, but it looked like everyone finally caught up to my train of thought.

"We gave Lorelei a replica body. But he's already mentioned that he can use his abilities freely," Jade said.

I smirked and crossed my arms, pointedly _not_ looking at the shadows to my right. "Eldrant is safe from Gnome dragging it back to earth due to the seventh fonons holding it together. Whether they're sentient or not, replicas are held together by seventh fonons."

"Which would give Lorelei the ability to trap and limit the other sentiences."

A good half of the room jumped, Anise and Natalia actually yelping, and I gave Shadow an amused look. "You'd think they'd be used to that already."

He gave me what I think was supposed to be an unamused look, then looked at the others. "Of course, that's assuming we can trap them in replica bodies at all."

I hummed. "Noted. We'll set that aside as something to look into later. We're all still in need of some serious recovery time." I glanced at Shadow. "Though, whether or not _you_ want to try it is another story altogether."

Shadow hummed. "I should, if for no other reason than to be sure Lorelei will, indeed, be able to limit our siblings."

I nodded. "Right. So we'll do that in a little bit... First. Since we're all here, we should probably see about catching everyone up. Unless I'm the only one still out of the loop."

Asch looked amused. "I think the rest of us already know everything." His amusement faded, and he gestured for me to follow him. "Come on, I'll get you updated on everything..."

I sighed and followed him, because I got the feeling that 'updating' wasn't the only thing he wanted to do.

He led me what must have been the long way through the ruins of Eldrant until we found a small, quiet space, and then he found a wall and leaned against it. "You know everything that happened with Reighn's group up until you split up in the Zao Desert, so I'll start there. Hopefully it'll be the short one..."

"That's a worrying note," I muttered. Asch nodded.

"Anyway... Reighn said they found the monolith, just in time for Shadow to tell them to take cover. Which they did, since they're still alive... Reighn stepped back out before Sylph actually showed up though. So he was the first one she noticed... He then apparently talked to Alvess." Yeah, I can see why he'd be skeptical on that one. "By the way, we have another chunk of monolith crystal for you."

I crossed my arms. "Leave it onboard the Albiore III. I'm not going to try to get that figured out just yet," I said. Asch nodded.

"Shadow then dragged all of them to the Archives in Rugnica and they had us evacuate... Actually, if I'm being totally honest, there wasn't much going on there. We got the refugees settled in pretty damn quick... Ryndor was a bit of an ass to try to talk to at times, but he told us what he could..." Asch bit his lip. "I think you should go talk to him yourself, though, because he told Jade something about the magic surrounding the Clans and I think you'd be the best one to work through that, since it doesn't make any sense to me."

I hummed and started pacing, because standing still was driving me crazy. "Noted."

"Myre decided to show up and help us evacuate, said Gnome knew we were there..." Asch sighed. "But at any rate, nothing really interesting on those two fronts... But as you obviously already found out about Sync... How did you even...?"

I paused in my pacing and raised an eyebrow at him. "Telepathic field. Everyone I know and am familiar with, I can pick out very, very easily. The only one of our friends who _wasn_ 't here was Sync. Thus why I went off on Dark, since I'm fairly certain that he, not Natalia, was the group leader in Grand Chokmah."

Asch winced. "Right. Well... Seth said they met up to eat dinner, and were approached by... Seth wrote it off as a random survivor, but Dark said it was Ifrit. In fact, what Dark told me has me worried..." he trailed off as I went back to walking around.

I poked him to see if I could drag his mind back to the present, and he closed his eyes.

"Dark said that they both had human forms."

I nodded. "That wouldn't surprise me." Asch frowned and looked at me, and I shrugged. "They aren't human, Asch. They aren't made of flesh and blood. They're made of fonons and, apparently, spirit Energies. We can bind the spirit Energies to a body of flesh and blood, as Lorelei has proven, but in their natural forms? It makes sense that they'd be able to turn into just about whatever they want."

Asch sighed. "Well, at any rate, Ifrit was running with them... Gnome got Dark by himself. Started talking... Dark called it 'creepy', 'stupid', and 'beyond irritating,' so I'm not sure what Gnome wanted, but..." He shrugged. "At any rate, they managed to group up again... Dark said Gnome threw what looked like a gold-brown orb of oil at him. Sync pushed him out of the way... Ifrit turned back into his demon form to fight Gnome off. Sync managed to nick Dark with a Black Rose dagger."

"So we're _very_ damn lucky we didn't lose Dark, too," I muttered, finally just leaning against the wall next to Asch. I'd noticed traces of poison in his heavily-damaged system, but hadn't looked much further than that. He nodded.

"Almost lost Dark, and... to be honest, I'm not sure. With the way Myre spoke... do you think we might get Sync back?" Asch asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I'd have to see how much damage Gnome did to Sync's Energy Core. Our souls carry... I'll say back-up copies of our memories. It's the reason why Doppel and I have to realign our memories once we're back in the same body. We both have memories of different events, and though my brain doesn't make the trip with me, the memories in my soul are enough. Jade and I have already proven that all we really need is the soul. We can get replica data from Solace and make him another body, but if Gnome's damaged his Energy Core..." I trailed off and sighed. "Well. That's not something I can figure out right now, and I'm pretty sure I'm needed if we're going to give Shadow a replica body, so we'd better go find Shadow and get things figured out."

Asch hummed. "Maybe go get Rhunön. She likes playing around with replica data. Rather than having an exact copy running around, at least..."

I winced. "Yes. Let's avoid anymore of the nonsense that resulted of you, Luke, and Lorelei all looking identical."

Asch chuckled a bit, and I started searching around on the second plane. Somewhere around here...

I tapped against Jade's mind, and he latched on without a second thought. *Yes?*

*Do you know where Rhunön is?* I asked.

*Ask Dist.*

I rolled my eyes. *Jade. There are way too many minds for me to narrow down which one is... Wait a sec. I think...* I pushed against the mind I'd just brushed against. *Hello?*

There was silence for a moment. *You're not Shadow.*

I made a face. *I'm not sure whether to be worried or amused that you thought I was Shadow, but I'm glad to know I found the right mind. Do you know where Rhunön is?* I asked, deciding that I really _didn't_ want to know some of what went on in Saphir's head.

*She's actually showing me how pigment modification works. Why?*

*Excellent. Stay there. I'm going to use you as a homing beacon... Hey, if you're apparently used to speaking to Shadow telepathically, mind telling him to meet us there?*

Amusement filtered through. *Fine.* A pause. *Wait, who else is listening?*

*That would be me,* Jade piped up. *An admittedly very baffled me.*

I snickered. *Jade. Stop questioning things that threaten your mental health.*

*Hey!*

Jade hummed. *I don't recall putting Dist on my list of things that threaten my mental health, but alright. I suppose adding him to it won't hurt anything.*

*Might save you a headache, too.*

Saphir huffed and managed to shove me back out, and I couldn't stop the laughter.

Asch gave me an odd look. "Good joke?"

I shrugged. "Yeah... Saphir is now on Jade's list of things that threaten his mental health."

"Wait, his mind is healthy?"

I smacked him. Then again for good measure.

The fact that Asch actually let out a couple chuckles had me relaxing slightly.

Sync's fate was, as yet, unknown. Dark was still weak, but well on his way to a full recovery. We were about to give Shadow a body.

I looked up at the blue sky and smiled.

Chances were, we'd be able to save Sync. If I was right, Gnome's 'oil ball' had been fonons. And fonons tended to have little effect on Energies. Sync's Energy Core should still be stable.

I could transfer his Core, his soul, to another body. He would live.

Gnome would be trapped by the time all of this was over.

I was certain.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Yes, Dist/Saphir is used to having Shadow in his head... Explains so much about our favorite comic relief character, doesn't it? Also explains a large part of his interest in Kairi, seeing as how Shadow's about to drag Kairi off next chapter for something.  
_


	24. Chapter 4-2 Part 24

_Alright, update number two for this Friday, and now we are all caught up again. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"About damn time." -Shadow_

 _"Now who's cheating?" -Shadow_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.2 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 24**

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over the final result.

The final result that was actually wearing clothes.

Had to love Rhunön's programming abilities, really... Though, why Shadow just _had_ to have a lavender-lined version of Danté's coat, I didn't know. Didn't want to know.

I had to admit, she'd done an excellent job mixing the two sets of replica data we'd gotten. Jade's data had given Shadow height, and straight hair. Dark's had dyed that hair black... All three of them were pale, and though I couldn't see Shadow's eyes yet, I had the feeling they were red. Because the fonic glyph in Jade's eyes had been translated into the replica data that had literally just been taken.

I crossed my arms as Shadow started moving extremities, noting the care he took not to move too quickly.

This was all new for him.

The other sentiences, with the exception of Lorelei, had all apparently taken to experimenting with their forms, and so the second through sixth fonons had human forms already. Shadow hadn't. He'd stubbornly kept to his default form of a vaguely-human-shaped blob.

When his eyes finally opened, I smirked. Yup. Jade's red.

"So, Mister thirty-some spirit Energies. How do you feel?"

Shadow blinked. "Thirty-some? I thought Lorelei only has eight!"

I smirked. "Yeah. And Jade has seven, whereas Anise has only two. You live for a long time, you pick them up. Also consider that Lorelei's been locked in the core for most of his life."

The sentience stared at me for a long few moments before sighing, shaking his head, and slowly sitting up. Then he looked around. "Interesting... You know my eyesight's actually _better_ like this?"

"Huh. Really?"

He nodded, then swung his legs over the edge of the machine, still looking around. Then he outright frowned at Dark. "Your hair's green."

I snorted. "No, it's definitely black. Though in the right light, yes, it can be mistaken for a dark green. But it's dark enough it's black..." I paused and frowned. "Actually, yours does the same thing, except purple."

"I may have tweaked that bit of coding," Rhunön piped up. "I was going to leave it green, but since purple seems to be his default fallback after black, I figured he wouldn't mind. You don't, do you?" she added, looking directly at Shadow.

He shook his head, then smirked. A moment later, he was gone, faded into the shadows. I kept an eye on the shadows in the room, expecting him to pop up again...

But notably failed to watch my own.

Which may have explained my screech when I felt someone prod me in the back.

Shadow smirked as I scowled at him. "About damn time."

"That was cheating," I grumbled.

Dark, Jade, Rhunön, and Saphir didn't seem to think so.

Then again, they were laughing so damn hard I'd have been amazed if any of them was thinking at all.

Shadow hummed, then disappeared again. This time, I laid down a telepathic field. I'd spotted him about to appear a couple times, so I wouldn't have put it past him to try that twice.

It took him longer to come back, but he did show up behind me again.

This time when he poked me, I gave him an unamused look. "Yes?"

He looked... not quite irritated, but also not surprised. "Now who's cheating?"

The snickers from the other people in the room failed to cease.

Until all sound suddenly ceased instead.

The shadows that had wrapped around me faded away to reveal... A cavern?

A faint scent had me sniffing the air, trying to remember where I recognized it from.

The moment I realized why it was familiar, my eyes went wide.

All around the two of us and poking out at random points in this dome-shaped cavern were maroon crystals, all softly glowing. But the light wasn't comforting. In fact, it almost seemed sinister. And the faint wisps I could see in that light proved that it wasn't as benign as first appeared.

Because that was miasma. The faint scent was familiar, because that was what the Qliphoth had smelled like while the Outer Lands had still been held aloft by the passage rings and the sephiroth.

I glanced at Shadow. "You know this really isn't good for me, right?"

He hummed. "True. But there's someone here who's been looking forward to seeing you again. Now just felt... right."

"So you randomly kidnapped me, notably without telling any of the others where we were going, because someone wants to talk to me?"

Shadow smirked. "Talk. Fight. And if you win... Believe me. It will be worth it."

I sighed and took yet another look around. It was just a cavern, nothing too special about it, and it didn't look like there were any... wait.

There it was—a path that lead out of the cavern.

"I'm guessing I have to find him first."

"Yep."

"I'm going to get so lost..."

Shadow snorted. "Nah. Just listen to your gut. It seems to do a good job leading you in these situations."

Which just served to baffle me, but if that was a hint, I'd take it.

After all, a really confusing hint was better than no hint at all.

Shadow just stood there with his arms crossed, giving me this expectant look, so I sighed and headed for the tunnel I'd seen. I was going to be so totally lost by the time I was done here, I just knew it, but there was only so much I could do about that.

The tunnel branched into three about a hundred yards down, and I had to stop and frown... Before I noticed something.

The tunnels were lined with the same glowing maroon crystals, but just above these three branches were three differently-colored crystals. The far left was a more subdued violet, the middle was green, and the right was orange.

I frowned at it. This was definitely odd.

Wait a moment.

This couldn't be... could it?

I turned and raced down the orange tunnel. Sure enough, I came upon another split shortly afterwards.

This time, there were four tunnels, and I frowned.

Orange again, and the green was here too, but there was a bright yellow and a proper red...

I'd been right. Before, the colors had corresponded with me, Sync, and Cantabile, the first three to face off against the Sword Dancer. This time, it was me, Asch, Natalia, and Sync.

I was looking for the Sword Dancer.

I headed down the orange tunnel again, only to find myself coming out of the purple path from a ways back.

Huh. Okay...

Down the orange...

I stopped and reconsidered my choices. Obviously I wasn't supposed to just follow the orange.

Of course not. That would be too easy.

But what else was I supposed to do?

Unless...

Going on a hunch, I headed down the green path this time.

When I ended up at another branch, the colors had changed again.

Orange, of course. A sky blue. A darker orange that was really closer to brown. And a dark blue.

Me, Dark, Seth, and Reighn. The third fight in Tataroo Valley.

I crossed my arms. Well, if following Sync had gotten me here...

Silver Clematis.

Black Rose.

White Lotus.

I raced down Dark's tunnel. Sure enough, I found the next branch-off.

Tear was a maroon color that was closer to purple, and didn't give off a dark-ish aura. Selenia was a lighter blue than Reighn. Dark was his sky blue again.

I smiled. This was where Selenia had gotten Gray Larkspur.

Down the royal-blue-marked tunnel it was, then.

The last one was orange, red, a red-violet, and Reighn's dark blue.

And this one made me stop. Because if the pattern continued, it would be Reighn's Gold Wisteria that would get me to the Sword Dancer.

Something told me that wasn't the tunnel I wanted though.

Something... The same gut feeling that had led me to challenge the Sword Dancer in the first place.

I walked down Asch's tunnel instead. Ultimatus was the Sword Dancer's signature sword, his very own weapon of choice, and it was inherently dark with his magic. A darkness that Asch had to wield along with the sword.

I came out into a large cavern almost identical to the first.

The only differences were the occasional scatterings of orange crystals here and there, and the large form in the center.

I walked up to the Sword Dancer warily, because I knew I likely didn't stand a chance against him by myself.

It was quiet for a moment before the Sword Dancer's head shifted so that he was looking down at me instead of sitting in a perfect lotus.

 _:So. You found me.:_

I nodded.

 _:And with only one incorrectly-taken path... Impressive. Not even Francis Daath managed to find me so quickly.:_

I inhaled sharply, because I _knew_ the importance behind that name. I'd been bored, and looked up the history of Daath...

Francis Daath had been one of Yulia's disciples. Had betrayed her... and had eventually vanished without a trace after helping her to escape death.

The Sword Dancer stood. _:I believe I have something you want.:_ A vague, ghostly apparition of Silver Clematis appeared, and I summoned the Vorpal Blade. _:Come... Earn it!:_

I jumped back to avoid a shockwave, then raced in. I was on my own. No backup this time. And really, all that meant was that I was going to have to be exceptionally careful. I didn't have the energy to waste here.

The Sword Dancer twisted, obviously intending to catch me with one of its two lower arms, but I rolled, managing to go under the attack before jumping to my feet and twirling into...

Well, I'd _meant_ for it to be a Guardian Field.

"Dark reckoning! Guardian's Pain!"

The Sword Dancer stumbled slightly, and I kicked at the leg I'd managed to hit to send him sprawling.

Not that it did me any good with the way his arms started moving. One moment, I was there, the next, I'd been thrown across the cavern.

I grunted as I hit the ground, but got to my feet, eyes locking on my opponent.

The miasma-mist condensed into a humanoid figure, and I recognized it as Cantabile.

That was... odd.

The miasma-Cantabile raced toward me, drawing its sword and swinging. But I'd watched Guy enough that I knew how to counter the Sigmund style. In fact, it was just as easy as fighting against Asch or Luke. I knew how they moved... which meant I needed to twist _this_ way, kick, and then slash _there_...

To my surprise, when the misty form of Cantabile scattered around my sword strike, it didn't just dissipate. It gathered up again, this time into Natalia.

It then immediately jumped back and aimed at me.

I grumbled and raced away from it, glancing around for the Sword Dancer... who'd disappeared.

I rolled my eyes, rolled under mist-Natalia's arrow, and then ran toward her. I didn't have the time to pull my own bow out, and this illusion definitely wouldn't give me the time to cast. So I had to do the only thing I could—get close and land a hit.

Something that was proving infinitely harder than I'd expected.

Oddly...

I frowned as I ducked under another arrow. The mist-Natalia was fighting just like the real Natalia, and it... almost looked more solid than mist-Cantabile had been.

But trying to get close wasn't going to help me here...

I swung my sword. "Demon—What the hell?!"

What came out was not Demon Fang. It most definitely was _not_ Demon Fang. Or Infernal Torrent.

Or even the blasted Ice Fang I'd come to hate.

It was a condensed ball of miasma.

A ball of miasma that hit the mist-Natalia hard. Once again, the miasma-mist scattered, then condensed again.

Once again, it seemed more solid than the last apparition I'd faced.

This time, it was Seth.

I scowled and ran in, not giving the apparition time to cast. Because it _had_ started casting... and it was more detailed than the last two as well. Huh.

Fighting Seth wasn't something I was used to, but he wasn't a melee fighter by nature. I'd been fighting both short-range and long-range since landing on Auldrant.

Which might have explained part of why mist-Seth just kept trying to run away from me.

I finally lost my patience and let loose another... Whatever the heck you call a miasma version of Demon Fang.

This one didn't scatter the mist-Seth like it had the mist-Natalia, but it knocked it down long enough for me to run over and use another Guardian's Pain.

The next apparition I faced turned out to be Tear, who started by immediately throwing her throwing knives at me.

Knives I didn't quite manage to dodge. They dissipated into the miasma-mist that made them up, and I scowled. Asch was going to be _so_ pissed when he found out just how much miasma I'd absorbed from this fight, I was sure.

Tear, like Natalia and Seth, didn't like fighting short range, so she raced off as quickly as she could.

The problem, however, lay in the fact that she was a _very_ good arm with those throwing knives, and unlike its real counterpart, the mist-Tear didn't have to go collect up the throwing knives she'd lost.

I scowled. Mist-Tear was keeping me at a good enough distance that I couldn't hit her with my sword, and the Demon Fang alternative wasn't working. Mist-Tear was better at dodging than mist-Natalia or mist-Seth.

So I had to figure out something else...

Another strike arte?

I'd already eliminated Demon Fang, and... well. Guardian Field, Demon Fang, Havoc Strike... they all required me to get close to mist-Tear to use, so...

I ran forward. This wasn't exactly a long-range arte, but it would work at mid-range.

"DelQues!"

I probably shouldn't have been surprised that my usually-emerald-green butterfly came out a maroon color. Really.

But it _did_ hit mist-Tear, it _did_ dispel mist-Tear, and as I landed, I glanced around, looking for the Sword Dancer. Still MIA, apparently...

And the mist had condensed into yet another familiar form. This time, Selenia.

I was mildly worried through. While the mist still bore the sickly maroon of the miasma it was made of, it was more brown than purple where Selenia's hair fell, and more purple than brown at her skirt, because she'd been wearing a purple skirt when we'd fought the Sword Dancer the fourth time.

The apparitions were becoming more and more realistic... How long before I'd be fighting a perfect copy of one of my friends?

And given the fact that the Sword Dancer had skipped right over Sync, _twice_... I had a feeling he and Asch would be the last two.

I ducked under a Comet Strike and scowled.

This was such a pain...

"Demon Fang!"

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Did ya'll miss the Sword Dancer? Well, obviously he refuses to simply fade into the background. So here you have it. He's returned. And is apparently doing his best to try to kill Kairi with the miasma._

 _Note that there is a_ lot _of miasma in this cavern. So what went wrong when Asch and Luke used their hyperresonance to cleanse the entire world of miasma? Food for thought._

 _Here's some more food for thought: Francis Daath._

 _-smirks- Have fun theorizing, my dear readers. Have fun._


	25. Chapter 4-3 Part 25

_Okay, so RKamelot had to kick my butt back into gear. (Thanks, BTW.) Firefox went and screwed with my settings and whatnot..._

 _Anyway, here's the update that was due on Friday. Hopefully I won't be running late this week._

* * *

 _"I'm guessing he and the miasma don't go well together." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.3 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 25**

I really, really, _really_ was starting to hate these apparitions.

Mist-Selenia sent another Comet Strike my way, and I rolled away from it, just barely. Then I sent another two dark Demon Fangs her way.

It didn't do me much good, because the next thing I knew, I was ducking away from a Spread.

Mist-Selenia could cast _damn_ fast.

Okay, let's recap.

I used Guardian Field against the Sword Dancer, except it turned into Guardian's Pain. Then the first apparition, taking the general outline of Cantabile, appeared. I defeated that one by sword-slash. The second one, Natalia, was defeated by a miasma version of Demon Fang. Then Seth was taken down by a miasma-Demon Fang-Guardian's Pain combo. Mist-Tear had been defeated with a miasma-DelQues...

Which left me to run in circles and try to figure out how the hell I was supposed to...

Oh.

Of course.

I raced in toward mist-Selenia and jumped up for a Havoc Strike.

This time, it didn't move fast enough to avoid the strike, and dissolved.

I stayed right there, waiting.

The next one would likely be either Dark, Reighn, or...

Mist-Flick formed up and immediately lashed out for a Reaper's Toll, but I was used to Sync starting spars like that, so ducking and letting loose a miasma-tainted Raging Blast was easy.

Mist-Flick was the fastest defeat to date.

Unfortunately, my next opponent would be a mist-Reighn.

A mist-Reighn who was intelligent enough to jump away the moment he saw me... and by this point, aside from what looked like a faint maroon haze, most of the colors were coming through perfectly clear.

These apparitions were becoming more and more life-like...

I swallowed, rolled away from the Crackle mist-Reighn unleashed, and then raced in toward him. He didn't like being a melee fighter, but he could and would use his scythe when he needed to.

I didn't want him to have a chance to summon the blade...

It bothered me for a second that I was no longer seeing the apparitions as 'its', but then I had to duck an attack, and I was a bit too preoccupied to truly care.

Reighn was strong. Had to be to swing his scythe around with any sort of speed. And I knew that if I gave him too much space, he'd start casting. Like with mist-Selenia, mist-Reighn would probably be a very fast caster.

I really didn't want him to have that time.

Unfortunately, the battle was starting to take its toll on me. I had cuts from Tear's knives, and a couple from an arrow or two of mist-Natalia's that I hadn't managed to dodge. Mist-Seth had managed a cut or two himself before being dispelled, and added to that, there was the miasma still floating around the cavern.

Asch was going to be _so_ pissed when I got out of this.

And Shadow was going to find out what it felt like to die by decapitation.

That lovely mental image firmly in the forefront of my mind, I charged at Reighn again, and he ducked back, trying to avoid my sword strike.

I'd known this was going to be a difficult battle, but then, I also knew Reighn well enough to know that if I twisted like _this_...

The mist-Reighn reacted just as I'd expected it to, enabling me to pull out a Guardian's Pain.

But rather than dissipating immediately, mist-Reighn got in one last blow that sent the Vorpal Blade flying.

I hissed, found a corner, and pulled out my wing pack, glancing at it.

Amazingly, I found I could actually get into it this time... albeit, only into the weapons section.

So. He _wanted_ me to use my bow now.

I pulled it out and slung the quiver into place just in time for the mist to form up into my next enemy—a gun-toting, dusty-looking Dark.

He immediately aimed at me, and I ran, rolled and came up with an arrow pointed at him.

An arrow he dodged, much to my irritation.

I was _really_ getting sick of these imitations of my friends.

I ran in toward Dark, and noticed his confusion. It faded quickly when mist-Dark realized I was within range for a Raging Blast, and Dark was gone just before I could hit him. Another arrow shot through the air.

This one found a new home in the apparition's back, and it scattered.

Then it formed up again, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach, because this time it was Sync.

And it wasn't just the boy who'd fought against the Sword Dancer with me.

Dull, pupil-less brown eyes told me more than enough. I was looking at the very same Gnome-controlled Sync that had nearly killed Dark.

I nocked another arrow, then had to roll away from a Shadow Daggers. I knew the poison on those weapons, but I wasn't sure I dared let them hit me, even if they were made out of pure miasma just like everything else.

I fired a few arrows, and suddenly realized something.

The Sword Dancer and Reighn had fallen to Guardian's Pain. Reighn had gotten in the last hurrah by knocking my weapon out of my hands.

Cantabile and Dark had gone down from a melee attack.

Flick had been defeated with a dark Raging Blast. Natalia a dark Demon Fang. Seth a Demon Fang-Guardian's Pain combo. Tear a miasma-fueled DelQues. Selenia a dark Havoc Strike.

I narrowed my eyes and slipped into the correct stance for a Blast Edge.

What came out was, as predictable, a miasma version of it.

And it not only hit Sync, it made him dissipate.

Which was when Asch formed.

I swallowed, because this... this was too life-like. No longer was there any indication that my opponent was actually made out of miasma-mist. It just looked like... Asch. Exactly the same as he'd looked the last time I'd seen him.

I took a few steps back. The only strike arte I had left was Silver Shot, but...

Asch ran at me, and so many hours of sparring paid off as I moved automatically, dodging, ducking, and managing to avoid gaining a single scratch from my opponent.

 _:Finish it...:_

I recoiled, and mist-Asch managed to open a gash across my stomach.

 _:Finish him!:_

I growled, jumping back away from the apparition that looked so much like the man I loved, and shook my head.

"No."

The apparition smirked, an evil expression that I knew didn't belong on my love's face, and a vague image appeared in my mind.

Asch, on the ground, paler than usual and sweating. Natalia and Jade bent over him, both of them looking panicked.

 _:No?:_ the Sword Dancer echoed.

I glanced at the miasma-copy, and then snarled something that would have had most ligers cringing.

Then I charged again, racing back in toward the false Asch.

Whatever was going on, whatever had been done... This illusion was hurting the real Asch. The man I loved...

Pure darkness gathered around my hand, even though I moved through the familiar motions of Reaper's Toll.

This was not Reaper's Toll. This... was so much darker. I knew this wasn't what it was supposed to be, but I didn't have a choice but to use it now.

The mist-Asch dissipated, and I glanced around.

No more illusions of allies...

Ah. So that's where the Sword Dancer disappeared to.

He then charged at me, apparently done allowing his illusory friends to attack me, and I scowled and ran at him myself. Somehow, I was going to win this. Because he'd summoned up the misty illusions, he'd done whatever he'd done to Asch.

I ducked under a sword slash and came up, shoving an arrow into his leg. I spotted the Vorpal Blade off to one side of the cavern, and slipped my bow around my torso, racing for the sword that would serve me so much better in these close quarters.

I was _pissed_.

And the steady stream of melee attacks and chained strike artes was the proof of that.

I paid little attention to the condition my own body was in, but somehow, even as the Sword Dancer finally fell to one knee, I managed to come out mostly unharmed. A few of the wounds I'd gained from fighting the miasma illusions, and a new cut or two...

I took a deep breath, and noted idly that I couldn't smell the miasma anymore.

Even though it was thicker than it had been previously.

The Sword Dancer returned to the lotus position he'd been in when I'd arrived, and I watched him carefully.

 _:You are, indeed, powerful. Come. It has been two thousand years since last I made a contract.:_

I frowned. "Contract?"

 _:I am a powerful spirit, but a spirit nonetheless.:_

"A summon contract," I realized. The Sword Dancer nodded.

 _:Indeed. You have already fulfilled the majority of your side of the bargain. Now... I have only one thing to ask of you. What will you do with the power at your fingertips, agent of the miasma?:_

I stared for a long few moments, uncomprehending, before little things finally started clicking.

The mysterious 'agent of the miasma' that Lorelei had started mentioning.

Guardian's Pain.

The way I'd twisted Twilight's Requiem into a miasma-tainted version.

And even now...

I pulled partially out of my body and checked. Despite standing here, despite the massive dump from Twilight's Requiem, despite everything... Yes, there was a _lot_ of miasma in my body.

But not a lick more damage than there'd been when I'd landed in northern Padamiya.

And with influxes that large, there _should_ have been damage. It _should_ have undone some of my efforts to heal myself.

It hadn't. The miasma, quite simply, no longer affected me.

I took a deep breath. Because the Sword Dancer had asked me a question. A question I would answer as honestly as I could.

"What will I do with it? I don't know. I don't know when I'll find myself backed against the wall. Don't know who or what I'll have to face to keep my friends and family safe. Don't know how long it'll be before I'm pushed to my limits." I clenched my jaw. "But I'll be damned if I let any of my family, my friends, die because I hesitated to use a weapon at my disposal."

I got the impression that the Sword Dancer was smirking at me.

 _:Excellent.:_

A large amount of miasma suddenly shot toward me, wrapping around me until I could barely see anything.

Then the fire started, that oh-so-familiar fire...

Asch was going to be _so_ pissed, damage or no damage.

I didn't really care right at that moment.

As the fire faded, I realized three things. First, I could _feel_ the miasma. Not just the massive amount in my own body, but also the mist-miasma that was still floating around the cavern, and the small amounts far, far away from me. I couldn't have told you how far away the small amounts of miasma were, nor could I really tell you which direction, but I could _feel_ them on the edge of my perception.

Second, I wasn't wearing my uniform anymore.

I smirked when I realized I was wearing the War Witch outfit Peony had made for me. The outfit I'd been wearing when I'd been sacrificed to destroy the Monolith of Syal. An outfit I'd feared forever lost. Its familiar silver, black, and violet was a welcome sight to my eyes.

The last thing, though...

I held out my left arm, and the sword that materialized there was _not_ the Vorpal Blade that _had_ been there.

Silver Clematis, in all its silver, teal, green, and magenta glory, appeared in a familiar silver flash of displaced fonons.

I grinned. "About damn time."

The Sword Dancer chuckled. _:Go. Shadow will return you to your friends. Gather the six monolith shards. They will teach you to summon. What they teach, applies also to me.:_

I nodded. "Thank you."

 _:And my name... is Kade.:_

He then disappeared, vanishing in a mass of black mist. I turned and headed up out of the cavern, following the tunnels at my own pace.

Shadow was waiting for me, leaning against the wall of the first cavern and looking bored out of his mind. I snickered at him.

Red eyes glanced at me, looked away, then shot back to me. Shock took over his features. "You... You beat him?"

I put a hand on my hip and tilted my head to the side. "You didn't think I would?" I asked. He stared for a moment longer before smiling.

"I guess... We have a chance after all. Just try not to touch Lorelei too much now, okay?"

I hummed. "I'm guessing he and the miasma don't go well together."

Shadow shook his head. "Understatement of the millennium." He pushed away from the wall and walked over to me. "Come on. I'm sure Asch is probably wondering where the hell I dragged you off to... Oh. Oh boy."

Shadow stopped and got that look that I knew Asch got when he was talking to Luke. "Uh... What did Kade do to him?"

"Created illusory versions of him and everyone else who ever helped me fight him," I said. "I... Hesitated to kill the false Asch."

Shadow winced. "You're going to want to go flush the miasma out of everyone on that list, then. And Asch is pissed. And confused, according to Jade."

I winced and held out a hand. "If he's pissed now, you'd better drop me and run unless you really want to see _just_ how angry that man can get."

The shadows around the cavern condensed and formed up around the two of us as Shadow grabbed my hand.

Sure enough, we landed right where we'd left from, and I glanced around. Asch, Jade, Saphir, Natalia, Dark, Reighn, Solace...

"Kairi?"

I looked down at Asch and nodded. He stood from where he'd been sitting an immediately frowned. "Where the hell did he just..."

When he cut off, I knew. He'd seen the miasma.

"Kairi..."

"It's a bit of a long story," I said. "No damage, though."

That didn't seem to relax Asch at all. "But, that much..."

I sighed. "I'm basically immune to it now."

"Hey, you got your present from Peony back," Solace pointed out, pointedly changing the subject. I giggled.

"Yup. Clothes, and..." I held up my hand, letting Silver Clematis appear. Solace grinned, and even Jade had to smile at my enthusiasm.

But to be totally honest, I was still a bit disappointed, though Asch would have had my head if he'd known why.

I'd gotten my clothing back, yes.

I'd earned Silver Clematis again, and was absolutely thrilled over _that_ one, though I wasn't sure what had happened to the Vorpal Blade.

But that still left me missing one thing, the one thing I wanted back the most.

The promise ring Asch had given me.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Reading back on this from about ten parts in the future, I've realized... Where the frick did the Vorpal Blade go?! Then again, we don't actually see Guy in action again for about ten parts... Huh. I guess Kairi just took her time giving it back to him? (She does still have it, by the way, Kade put her bow, quiver, and the Vorpal Blade away in her wing pack for her.) Except... Eh, looks like Tea and I have some editing to do. (Gotta love minor plot holes that twist your brain in all sorts of knots, right?)  
_


	26. Chapter 4-4 Part 26

_Ow... Ah, I hurt. Saturday was the first time in ages that I've gone hiking. Note that it was not on our (mine and Nathan's) list of planned activities for the day. We got lost trying to find Washington Park and I decided to try to find the park where Dad and I went hiking a few times when I was a kid.  
_

 _We found it. The spot I was looking for, right down by the river, not far from the highway, on the rocks. We found it._

 _So we're planning to go back._

 _If nothing else, it's good exercise._

 _Now then! On to the story! -snickers at Asch's quote-_

* * *

 _I blinked, took another look at what Kairi was_ wearing _, and had a feeling that if this had been the game, a dialogue bubble with a question mark in it would have appeared over my head. Because that was about how I felt right then. -Asch_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.4 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 26**

 **Asch's POV**

"There has to be something we can do about evacuating the cities," Natalia said. "I mean, we had no choice _but_ to evacuate Grand Chokmah, but if Lorelei's vision was correct, Gnome is going to attack _everyone_ , and we can't just let all those innocent people die!"

I sighed. Arguing with Natalia was a lot like trying to follow me through a forest. You could go in circles for hours and not get anywhere. Which was a major part of the reason why I was letting Peony do most of the arguing.

Peony and Dark, at least, though Dark was less arguing and more pointing out facts.

Facts that normally, I'd have agreed with, because really, there was no way we could fit everyone on Eldrant.

But that didn't mean we couldn't get a lot of people in here. I knew if we could clear out all of the monsters in the fortress surrounding the actual land, that right there would be more than enough space to house all the citizens of Baticul and Daath, because while it wouldn't be perfectly comfortable, it would be enough space.

The problem was trying to feed all of those people. There was enough open space on the replicated Hod to grow crops, but we'd definitely need to get the farmers from Engeve for that, and those crops would have to be growing by the time we started bringing in citizens...

And that was just for Baticul and Daath. If we converted as much of the replicated Hod to farmland as we could, that would displace a lot of citizens from Grand Chokmah.

That would mean we'd have no space for any of the others, either. Chesedonia, Belkend, Sheridan, St. Binah, Kaitzur... and even if we did bring in the farmers from Engeve, where were they supposed to sleep? There was just no space.

Not enough of it, at least.

So I stood there, refusing to take a side while I tried to think over it.

Then, mid-sentence, Natalia gasped, swayed, and then fell, Dark moving faster than I'd expected him to be able to in order to catch her.

I dropped to my knees next to her and ran a quick Scan, just in case...

And decided it was a good thing I had.

There wasn't a lot, but there was some miasma in her body, even though we'd cleared everyone out after the Tower of Rem. There shouldn't have been _any_ miasma, but there was... So I flushed it out and noticed her rubbing her head as she sat up.

"That was... strange..." she murmured.

"Natalia?" Dark prompted her.

She shook her head. "For a moment... It felt almost like I was... fighting Kairi."

I frowned. "Okay... I think that's my hint to go _find_ Kairi." Because that woman had way too much of a history with miasma and bad choices.

Natalia nodded. "Yes. That's likely a good idea."

"Why don't you three go look for her? I need to go deal with the council," Peony said. I just nodded and stood, crossing my arms and thinking. Kairi had said she, Jade, Dist, and Rhunön were going to make the replica body for Shadow, so...

"Dark? Do you remember which replica facility they went to?" I asked. He'd been asked to come in so Rhunön could get his data. Though... I wasn't sure I wanted to know how one got replica data of a replica.

Dark nodded and led the way, notably leaning on Natalia most of the way. I couldn't help but be grim as I saw the two of them, because that wasn't a good sign. Yes, Dark and Natalia loved each other, and I hoped and prayed that they would get a long time to act on that love... but when the Albiore II had landed, and Natalia and Sorylle had immediately rushed off, Natalia yelling for another healer and medicines...

I'd panicked. Kairi had taken to Dark as another brother. He was her best friend, her confidante... and I knew that losing him would take its toll on her.

So that was why I'd been the first one to rush over to help. Rialle had been next, and it took the three of us almost four hours to get his heartbeat stable.

That had been the most terrifying four hours of my life, mostly because I'd been doing most of the work. The poison from the colored flower weapons was potent, deadly, and I'd basically been using Energies to _force_ Dark's body to keep working.

I wanted Kairi to check up on him herself at some point, but for right now, it would have to do.

We'd just made it to the replica facility when Dark grunted and dropped to the floor, legs unable to carry his weight.

"Dark?"

I slipped halfway onto the second plane as Natalia held him, the pain on his face telling me enough...

But the problem was, it wasn't any of his previous wounds or the lingering poison from the Black Rose daggers that was causing the pain.

Miasma. It moved in his body, like an imprint of someone moving, and I frowned at it.

A moment later, the miasma scattered around a point near Dark's back in his right shoulder, around where his heart was. Then it settled, and simply sat there like miasma usually does.

Which had me beyond confused. Still, Dark needed that out of his system, so I got to work cleaning it out.

"What in the world is going on?" Jade asked, walking over.

"I don't know. Natalia said something about... feeing like she was fighting Kairi for a moment?" I said as Dark started to sit up.

"Hmm... Hey, Natalia. Quick question, out of morbid curiosity. How'd Kairi kill _you_?" I gave Dark an unimpressed look.

Natalia looked confused. "Um... A Demon Fang? I think?"

Dark snorted. "Huh. Lucky you. I feel like I just got shot in the back."

I hummed. "That would explain the way the miasma acted... I'm a bit worried about _Kairi_ now, though. If it's miasma that's doing this to you guys, then where is she and is there miasma there? Because if there is... her body can't take much more before she passes the point of no return."

Jade looked worried now himself. "Shadow took her somewhere almost as soon as he could walk," he said. "Neither of them has come back. It's been a little over half an hour, too."

"Huh? What are you guys doing here?"

I looked up and frowned. "Reighn? Something wrong?"

"Yeah... I was actually looking for another healer. I just collapsed a few minutes ago."

I took a glance at his body, and noticed _more_ miasma. I sighed. "Well. How'd Kairi kill you?"

"Um."

"Natalia and Dark have already tried not sounding crazy, and Dark decided that figuring out how everyone got killed was a good idea," I said. Reighn ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I got outsmarted, I think. Kairi feinted and then pulled out a Guardian's Pain... Think I managed to knock her sword away right after, though... Dunno what happened after _that_. I kinda came back around then."

I nodded. "So that would be why she had her bow out to fight Dark..." I paused, because for whatever reason, there was a sudden pressure against...

I couldn't quite hold in the gasp, because _damn_ I'd forgotten how bad massive rushes of miasma felt.

How the _hell_ had Kairi managed to do this so many times?!

The was the last coherent thought I had before finding myself with double vision. I could sort-of see Natalia and Jade knelt over me, but at the same time, there was Kairi, and she had her bow out.

And she looked like she was about to be ill in the maroon light.

Maroon?

Ah, shit. Miasma.

She took a few steps back, and I felt myself moving, running toward her. I had no control over the attacks executed against her, no control over the artes I used. And Kairi wasn't trying to fight back, she just dodged, ducked, or blocked when she couldn't move out of the way fast enough.

How badly was having to fight her friends hitting her?

I winced when she hesitated, distraction obvious, and I ended up slashing across her stomach.

She jumped back, a feral growl barely reaching my ears. "No."

I felt like I was smirking, and not at all the nice kind, either. A moment later, Kairi's eyes lost focus.

Rather than taking advantage of her distraction, like I was expecting it to, whatever was controlling me allowed her the moment of lost focus.

Then she snarled something that I had a feeling was not at _all_ complimentary before running in toward me.

Wait... what? She didn't have a sword!

Shadows gathered around her hand, and I had a feeling this was almost over. Because that looked _almost_ like Reaper's Toll.

Almost.

And then it was over, and I was in control again, laying in a replica facility at Eldrant and trying to catch my breath.

I was just short of panicking now.

Where was Kairi? That had looked like some sort of a cavern...

I found a wall and sat against it. I didn't know how long it would be before Kairi returned. Didn't know where she had been taken. Or why.

I was just worried about the miasma. Because there had been so much... Ah, damn.

I closed my eyes and slipped out of my body altogether, because I needed to clear the miasma out of my own body now. And then I probably needed to figure out who all Kairi had been forced to fight, because there was no evidence of Jade having any miasma in his body, but Natalia, Dark, Reighn and I had all been hit?

I didn't know what the correlation was. I didn't know... and that meant I didn't know why we'd been chosen.

There'd been a delay between Dark and me. A long enough delay that at least one other person had gotten hit. There'd been quite the delay between Natalia and Dark. At least two people, from what I could tell of how long Reighn had fought her.

I wasn't getting anywhere like this. I realized that when I noticed that I'd barely gotten rid of any of the miasma. So I gave in and forced myself to focus.

Vital organs first, especially my liver and kidney, since they tried and failed to clear the miasma out normally...

Then my lungs. Then everything else.

And as I finally finished up, I spotted them. The moving first fonons, that were starting to condense in the center of the room.

So, that was how Kairi always managed to avoid not being startled. She saw the shadows moving right before Shadow showed up. Because even on the first plane, some of the shadows elongated, reaching toward where the first fonons were gathering.

How long had I wasted trying to get rid of the miasma? A while, I knew. Probably almost an hour.

Kairi had been gone for roughly two hours now. That was two hours in an environment with probably a _lot_ of miasma.

So even though I felt like someone had set me on fire when I dropped mostly back into my body, I stayed half on the second plane and watched the gathering fonons as they hesitated, swirling around like they were _considering_ doing something.

Then they collapsed into each other, more joining them, and the moment the fonons cleared, I sighed in relief. There was Kairi, still alive and, though there was blood at various spots on her body, she wasn't bleeding very heavily at this point.

"Kairi?"

She looked over at me and nodded, a small, relieved smile on her face. I forced myself to my feet. "Where the hell did he just..." I trailed off, and tried not to do more than frown when I realized just _how much_ miasma was cycling through her body.

That much miasma...

I wasn't stupid. I knew she wanted to have children at some point. Not right now, of course, or really even in a couple years, but further down the line... She wanted children.

If the miasma hadn't scarred her uterus beyond repair, then I'd be shocked. Either way, at this point, there was no way she'd be able to carry a child to term.

"Kairi..."

"It's a bit of a long story," she said. "No damage, though."

...I'd believe that when I'd checked for myself. Because... "But, that much..."

The sigh she let out told me that she'd been right about one thing. It was going to be a _very_ long story. Because that was exasperation, and weariness, and amusement, and relief. "I'm basically immune to it now."

...Uh huh.

Again, I'd believe that when I got a chance to look for myself.

"Hey, you got your present from Peony back!"

I blinked, took another look at what Kairi was _wearing_ , and had a feeling that if this had been the game, a dialogue bubble with a question mark in it would have appeared over my head.

Because that was about how I felt right then.

Hadn't she been wearing that when her last Doppelganger body had died at the Monolith of Syal? And I _knew_ she'd been wearing her Oracle Knights uniform since returning to Auldrant, so why...? Where...? _How_?!

She giggled. "Yup! Clothes, and..." She trailed off dramatically before holding out her left arm, a wide grin across her face.

The moment Silver Clematis materialized, I knew _exactly_ where Shadow had taken her. And I kinda wanted to facepalm.

Because here I'd thought we were _done_ with the Sword Dancer.

...Guess he wasn't quite done with us.

I crossed my arms as Silver Clematis vanished again. Well, if Kairi was back... "Kairi. You wouldn't have happened to have to fight some of us to get that back, would you?"

Her wince was answer enough.

"Had a feeling. How many? Dark, Reighn, Natalia, and I all had miasma in our bodies when it happened," I asked.

"Ten total. Everyone that's ever fought the Sword Dancer... Obviously there's nothing we can do for Sync right now, but that still leaves another five. Cantabile, Selenia, Seth, Flick, and Tear," she replied. "Though... Who had the most miasma out of the four of you?"

I frowned. "Me. Why?"

"You were the last, and the only one that didn't have some sort of flaw in the image. I wouldn't have recognized Cantabile if it hadn't been for the damn wing thingamajig on the shoulder of her tabard."

"Wing _thingamajig_?" Reighn echoed. I snorted.

"It's a Kairi-ism that I haven't heard in about a year. I'm surprised it took this long for her to say it again."

Kairi promptly flipped me off.

"So, Cantabile probably won't have a lot of miasma in her body," Jade said. "Who was second?"

"Natalia. Then Seth, then Tear, then Selenia, then Flick, Reighn, Dark, Sync, and Asch."

I sighed.

Work time.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Haha, poor Asch. He went from worried, to terrified, to confused, to exasperated, to worried again, to amused, to irritated. And because of the fact that my imagination switches at random between what I call 'anime mode' and 'game mode', when Shadow brought Kairi back, it switched from 'anime' to 'game'. Hence the comment about the question mark dialogue bubble. Because while Solace is happy enough to see the outfit, Asch didn't even _ notice _it until then. That is how my brain showed me a confused Asch._

 _So. Enjoy the mental image of an Asch with a question mark dialogue bubble over his head._


	27. Chapter 4-5 Part 27

_Hello, running late. What else is new?_

 _Actually, I contemplated posting this last night, and then didn't because I was tired. And then I spaced out and forgot to post before going to hang out with my boyfriend. So, here you go._

 _And this chapter brings us back to something all the way back in the beginning of the first book. Whoo... Sort of. It's not really a good thing._

 _Also, I'm pretty sure I got all the telepathy, but if I missed something, feel free to mention it._

 _Enough of my rambling. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"Now where did your brain teleport to?" -Asch_

 _*Ah. Well. If we needed Shadow, we found him.* -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.5 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 27**

I waited until Asch had managed to clear everyone of miasma except myself and Cantabile—who was currently somewhere out in the fortress around Eldrant slaughtering monsters—before I grabbed him and pulled him to the side.

Once we were alone, I crossed my arms and leaned against a wall. He looked at me worriedly, and I shook my head. "I was telling the truth earlier, Asch. I'm still in the same condition I was in when Shadow took me to Kade."

"So he told you his name."

I nodded. "I'm guessing he told you when you accepted Ultimatus." Asch nodded, still looking far more concerned than I'd ever seen him before. I sighed and uncrossed my arms, walking over and holding my hands to the sides. "You can use Scan if you want, Asch. But don't waste your energy trying to get rid of the miasma. It's just going to come back anyway."

"Kairi..."

"Remember what Lorelei's been mentioning? The 'agent of the miasma?'" I started. "It's _me_ , Asch. Guardian's Pain, the artes I used to fight the illusions of you and the others... I don't think I could get away from this if I _wanted_ to."

Asch grimaced, but the green glow around his hands a moment later told me that he still wanted to be sure, had to know for himself. And I didn't blame him. I knew there was too much miasma... this much... I should be infertile by now.

I hoped and prayed that I was right, that I wasn't. But I just didn't know what else to do.

Asch sighed, a sound that was so very filled with relief that I almost collapsed, myself.

I wasn't really surprised that he closed the short gap between us and hugged me. He had always been so worried about me, always trying to make sure I was okay...

I wrapped my arms around him and just stood there for a minute. "It's okay. I'm okay."

I felt him nod slightly.

"Asch?"

"Yeah?"

"I want my baby brother back." Seeing him with those dull brown eyes, eyes that didn't belong to him...

Asch pulled me closer. "I know. I do too."

We just stayed like that. Holding each other tight and not wanting to let go. I didn't want to lose anyone else, but with Gnome going on a rampage, and the thing with the miasma...

I frowned, pulled away, and then started reaching out. Was Lorelei here on Eldrant, or running around elsewhere?

...Here, apparently. Near Luke. Probably talking.

Excellent.

I turned and marched out of the small alley we'd found, and Asch made a sound of confusion before jogging to catch up to me.

"Now where did your brain teleport to?"

I snorted. "Lorelei. Eldrant. Eldrant is safe from Gnome dragging it back to the ground because of the seventh fonons, right? And we were going to see if Lorelei could use the seventh fonons in replica bodies to limit the other sentiences' power. So. Sync is a replica."

Asch was quiet for a long few minutes, and then he put a hand on my shoulder. I stopped and looked over at him. "I hope you're right," he said. "And if not... We'll find _something_ else."

I shrugged. "I've already got a few different ideas lined up. This one just happens to be the fastest one, potentially."

Which made figuring out if it was possible my first priority.

We found Luke, Lorelei, and Reighn sitting in a triangle. It honestly looked like Reighn was trying to teach Luke something, and Lorelei was just sitting in for lack of anything better to do. Because Lorelei was the only one to look up as we walked over.

Actually, both Luke and Reighn had their eyes closed.

"Hey," I greeted absently. "So... what are _they_ up to, first?"

Lorelei shrugged. "Honestly? Not a clue. I—ung..." He made a face, like he'd smelled something bad. "Really? Already?"

I smirked. "You know it's rude to tell a lady she smells bad, right?"

Lorelei sort of floundered for a moment. "Wha—I didn't—how did—?!" I snickered.

"You screwed up your face the exact same way Asch and Luke do when they smell something bad."

He sighed. "Yeah. Okay, you win. Honestly, it was bad enough when the stench of the miasma just kinda floated around Asch. Still trying to figure _that_ one out. But now you... Kade couldn't have waited a _week_?"

"Nope," I replied cheerfully. "As for Asch, he's got Ultimatus."

"That would explain it."

"Shadow also warned me not to touch you too much from here out."

"Nice of him. I really don't like being burned. Don't think you'd appreciate it either."

I hummed. "So. Ignoring the statues and going to what I actually came here for... Remember that Sync is currently being controlled by Gnome?" Lorelei nodded, looking confused. Actually, I now had two confused redheads, but I would answer Asch's questions later. "Sync is a replica."

Lorelei blinked at me, then vanished in a flash of light. I frowned. He hadn't said anything, just run off.

So I sighed and sat down near Luke and Reighn. Who still were just sitting there. I frowned a little more, because this was odd. We'd just had a whole conversation with Lorelei—or I had, at least—and they hadn't reacted?

"They aren't actually here," Asch said. I nodded, just now noticing that. Their bodies were here, but the dimmed Energy Cores told me the truth—they were out running around on the second plane.

So I gave in and joined them, closing my eyes and slipping out of my body. My telepathy didn't work on the second plane, and since it had found their bodies just now and not their souls, I had a feeling they'd been at this for a while already.

I wasn't surprised when Asch did the same, and we started walking around.

Eldrant was a mess, but in peaceful moments, it could almost be called beautiful.

With the Energies floating around, I had to smile, because it was just as beautiful as ever. I loved seeing the world on the second plane. Everything had a special sort of glow to it. People had a pink glow, brighter or duller based on how many spirit Energies they had. Trees actually had more of a lavender glow—not wind Energies, but a combination of their spirit Energies and the water Energies that gave them life, allowed them to move everything else around in their slow-growing bodies.

Plants in general had a sort-of lavender glow to them, honestly. Humans, all you could really see was the pink, except in people who had only one or two spirit Energies. Then they just subtly glowed, enough to draw eyes to them when you were in the dark and there was no other source of light, but not enough to have a true color.

I was actually searching for a couple brighter-than-average glows, because of two things.

First, we were looking for souls, and their glows wouldn't be hindered by their bodies.

Second... Reighn had eight spirit Energies.

*Holy crap.*

I glanced at Asch, then looked in the direction he was looking. Then I smirked. *Ah. Well. If we needed Shadow, we found him.*

Asch blinked a couple times. *You know. For the fonon sentience of _darkness_... He's got a _really_ bright glow.*

I giggled. *Well, he does have a few _dozen_ spirit Energies.*

Asch rolled his eyes. *Right. So. Luke. Reighn. I'd contact Luke, except that we already learned we can't do that if one of us is out of our body.*

I nodded. *We're looking for two brighter-than-average pink glows... Is that them?*

It looked like it was them, at least. Though what they were doing over there was beyond me...

Asch and I walked up to them and crouch at the edge of the pool they'd found, and I felt like something was off... wrong. *Hi,* I greeted. Luke grunted, and I noted the faint golden glow to the water. I frowned. *What are you doing?*

He pulled his hand away from the edge and sighed. *There's something in the water. Everyone that drinks from this spring gets sick. One of the other springs was actually tainted with miasma still. I cleaned that one up with a _very_ carefully controlled hyperresonance, but I can't even figure out what's wrong with this one,* he admitted.

Reighn hummed. *I've been at it for a couple hours already, trying to find a solution. Luke and I usually switch off and on which one of us is wandering around on the second plane cleaning things up and which one's not,* he added.

I frowned and put my hand in the water before immediately drawing it back out. Luke gave me a wry look. *Yeah. Reighn and I did that too.*

I shook my head. *Give me your hands. Now,* I ordered, already summoning up the floating water Energies that weren't tainted and corrupted by death. Those, and fire Energies, and moon Energies.

Luke hissed as I forced the Energies through his transparent 'body', but looked rather relieved when I was done. *What _was_ that?*

I shook my head. *Reighn, you next. You're probably worse off than Luke if you've been over here longer.*

Luke moved and gestured for the older man to take the spot where he'd been crouching. Reighn did, albeit reluctantly, and I forced the cleansing Energies through him, next.

That Reighn automatically snapped back to his body in pain when I finished said that I'd been right. He'd gotten more of the negative Energies in his system than Luke had.

*Luke, Asch, go back to your bodies. Start warning everyone to stay _well_ away from this spring,* I ordered. *And then gather up everyone who's worked on the second plane. Natalia, Dark, Jade, anyone else you've taught. I'm going to try to see if I can get some of the taint around the outer edges to go away.*

Asch looked worried. *Kairi...*

*This is Energy stuff, Asch. My specialty. But even I can't handle a negative Energy cleanup this big on my own. And Luke? Reighn really shouldn't be on the second plane again for a while. Have him gather up all the people who've gotten sick from this spring, I'll see what I can do for them once we've set up a barrier to keep the tainted Energies from spreading too much,* I continued.

Asch and Luke both nodded, and then they were gone. I immediately made myself a 'net' of water, fire, and moon Energies and started walking around, first making a simple circle around the spring and then moving further out in a spiral. It was taking me a while though, and by the time Jade showed up, I was starting to lose my patience with the slowness.

Thankfully, my brother was earth and water. Patience was sorta his thing. So after a quick explanation, I set him to my previous outward spiral and then scouted around to try to find the farthest edge of the taint, trying to see how far it had spread.

This sort of taint would take weeks to cleanse completely, especially from the soil, but if we could clear up the air and water at least, that would be enough to start the rest of the Energies cleaning themselves up naturally.

I'd just found the edge when Dark and Natalia joined me, and I showed them how to make the same sort of net Jade was using. Then, sending Natalia in a collapsing clockwise spiral as opposed to Jade's expanding counter-clockwise spiral, I dragged Dark into the center, to where I'd originally started with the spiral Jade was doing, only to find that the taint from the spring had already pushed back out by about a foot.

Irritated, I had Dark start there, pushing the taint back in toward the water, making the same collapsing clockwise spiral Natalia was doing, albeit further in.

Asch, Luke, Selenia, and Solace were the last to join us. I had to admit that I was a bit surprised to see Selenia and Solace, but if they'd been experimenting—carefully, I hoped—and were willing to help, I'd take it.

And really, Selenia didn't surprise me so much as Solace did, because Sync had always loved the second plane. I could imagine him teaching her what he knew, and the two of the working together to learn something new.

As for Solace, well.

I glanced at Luke. I had a feeling I knew how _that_ had happened, too.

I started by showing the four of them when Jade, Dark, and Natalia were doing. Then I set Solace to helping Jade, Selenia with Natalia, and Luke with Dark.

I had Asch take up a position in one of the cleansed strips on the other side of the spring, while I knelt on the other side.

*Natalia, Solace, Jade, Selenia. When you four finally close the gap, spread out to the four cardinal directions, and stay about ten yards behind me and Asch. Asch is northwest, I'm southeast. Selenia, you'd best take north, and Natalia, west. Jade, south. Solace, east,* I directed.

*I'm gonna guess you want me and Luke to take northeast and southwest?* Dark asked.

*Luke is southwest. You'll be northeast, but don't come back out to where Asch and I are. We'll move in toward you two. There's too much taint here for us to cleanse more than the air directly around where we're going to be working, so for now, we desperately need to seal it off to stop it from spreading and give the land time to heal. Earth Energies will cleanse negative Energies naturally, but it takes time and no catalyst causing the taint to _form_ ,* I said. *We'll have to do something about the water, but I'm more worried about the people Reighn and Luke said were getting sick. Negative Energies do bad things to the soul, and though the body helps us to resist it, _ingesting_ water that's this thick with negative Energies is _really_ not good.*

*Noted,* Jade said. *But _damn_ this is tiring...*

I grunted. *Magic. True magic, not tricks. It's like the difference between clearing out most poisons versus the miasma. If there's a minimal amount of taint, say where an animal died, and the earth Energies aren't cleaning it up real quick, it can be sped up for a minimal energy cost. But something this big? There's a reason it's going to take us _days_ to finish this.*

I waited for the four around the edge to finish, and then they settled into place.

Then Dark and Luke finished, and they took their places.

I stood up, drawing on the earth Energies that were still clean from the ground I'd been standing on. Those Energies moved out to where the other three in the inner circle were. *Outer circle, wind and sun Energies. Move in as we do.*

Such a pain...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**...I blame Reighn. He wanted to do something useful with himself before he became useless._


	28. Chapter 4-6 Part 28

_I friggin' hate the greater-than/less-than signs I use for telepathy in the main document. Or hates them at least._

 _Moving on... Nope, I got nothing._

 _Enjoy._

* * *

 _I wasn't sure whether to be amused or disturbed by the fact that I'd found my other boot on the first try. -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.6 - Creeping Shadows  
Part 28**

I got up, wiped the sweat away, and looked around. Still another dozen for me to do...

"You should probably take a break."

I glanced over my shoulder at Tear. "Probably," I agreed. But we still needed to help these people, and they needed it quickly, before the negative Energies could do any more harm...

I sighed. "Tear? I know you haven't worked much with Energies or the second plane before... but do you think you could help me? I'm not stupid. There's no way I can do all the rest of this group on my own, and the others are probably exhausted as well."

Tear nodded. "Anything to help. My healing artes just aren't doing anything, and I've never had that problem before."

I hummed and stood up carefully, working my way over to the next man. I'd started with the women and children, and now was working my way through the men. Tear followed behind me, and sat next to me, and I coached her through how to leave her body and step onto the second plane.

I let her have a moment of wonder to look around her before drawing her attention to the man in front of us. *Here. Now, that spring that's making everyone sick... the water is saturated with negative Energies. From what exactly, we don't know, and we haven't had a chance to find out yet.* I gathered up some Energies. *Here, hold onto these. You've got enough spirit Energies; it should only take a thought to keep them in place,* I said. Tear managed to hang onto a few of them, and once she'd figured it out, she gathered a few on her own. I smiled and nodded. *Good. Now, notice how they feel?*

*Yes... not quite like fonons, but not quite... _not_ like fonons either.*

I giggled. *Fonons are mutated Energies. Anyway, let those go and put your hand right... here,* I said, sobering up quickly. Tear did so, and then she gasped.

*What... are _those_?*

I grimaced. *Negative Energies. Tainted by the presence of death or illness, usually. They are also often the _cause_ of illness, as is the case here. This is what that spring is saturated with. This is what we need to get cleaned out of their bodies. And doing that is _magic_ , not easy, energy-efficient tricks like the ones that we use to light fires or speed up healing. Negative Energies, like miasma-tainted seventh fonons, will get stuck in a person's body. We have to knock them loose one element at a time,* I said.

Tear nodded. *Is there a specific order?* she asked.

I smirked. *I like you. That was an excellent question. As for the answer, yes, sort of. The last two we should be knocking loose are sun and moon Energies. Those tend to take other Energies with them... usually clean energies. If a tainted sun Energy takes a bunch of clean fire Energies away instead of taking any tainted Energies, then more tainted ones can be attracted to take up space and cause more damage. Aside from always doing those two last... A good one to do first is water, then fire. Those two elements naturally cleanse when used in magic. Earth cleanses naturally, but it works on its own time, and these people don't have that sort of time.*

Tear nodded. *I see. Now how do we only knock one kind of Energy loose?*

I draw up some wind and sun Energies, then a few water Energies, and move them into formation. *Wind knocks the Energies away. Sun gives the wind Energies a little more 'oomph,' so the tainted Energies will actually leave. The water Energies in the center give focus. They'll prioritize water over everything else, and wind will go out of its way to avoid earth, so we start there.*

It took Tear a few moments to figure out how to get the Energies to cooperatively stay in the sphere-like shape mine were in. Once she did manage it, though, she took to it rather quickly, with me just sort of hovering to make sure she was doing it right.

Which she was, and while she was doing that, I _wasn't_ using up the rest of my energy.

Which was nice.

Once we'd cleared out water, I had her replace the wind Energies with water and the water Energies with earth. Then she started again, slow and steady and with none of the patience problems Asch had had when I'd first started teaching him this part of magic, back on the ferry when Sync's Energy Core was destabilized.

Then again, Asch never did have a lot of patience to begin with.

Once Tear was finished with earth and water, I told her to snap back to her body to double-check her energy levels and then move on to the next one.

*But, what about...?*

*Earth and water take the most energy. Fire, wind, sun, and moon take a little more... fine handling. Less energy, but more focus. The more you can clean up their earth and water Energies, the more I can finish,* I said. Tear nodded, seeming to understand, and I got to work.

In the time it took me to completely clean the first man's system out, Tear had finished the second man, and I moved on to him next.

A rather exhausted-looking Asch wandered in through a wall, and I frowned at him. He shrugged. *What? It's easier than actually getting up and coming all the way around the building... How the hell are _you_ still standing?*

I pointed to Tear. *She's doing the really energy-draining part of cleaning up the water and earth Energies right now, and I'm coming along after her to finish cleaning up. Less energy-sapping for me, and it gives Tear something to do,* I said. Asch stared for a moment, then disappeared, probably to set some of the others to doing what Tear was doing. Because I had a feeling Tear wasn't the only who felt useless right now.

Reighn was under orders not to step onto the second plane, but he was making himself useful by finding everyone who'd ever drank from that spring. So setting the rest of our friends to work helping with the cleansing would definitely spare us a bit of energy.

It took us something like three hours to get through all of the people who'd ingested the negative Energies, and once we were done, Asch, Luke, Dark, Jade, Natalia, and I could honestly barely stand. Tear wasn't doing much better, so it really came as no surprise to, well, _anyone_ that the majority of us ended up falling asleep that afternoon, well before anyone else did.

I knew I'd fallen asleep, because when I woke up, I wasn't outside of a building, leaning against the wall like I last remembered.

I was in the room that had been designated as one of the ones for our group. In my usual cot.

I yawned and sat up, stretching slowly and looking around. If I was right, it was about six in the morning. I could feel people moving around, and looking around the room, I noted that everyone was here. So I was the first... nope.

Reighn was awake, but it looked to me like he was meditating. I scowled. "You better not be on the second plane."

He sighed. "No. I'm not that kid that ignores the doctor's orders just because. You told me not to, so I'm not... I'm just trying to figure out what you did yesterday."

I hummed and then looked around. Didn't feel like anyone else was going to be waking up any time soon...

I smirked, managed to clear some of the clutter that had managed to collect in the middle of the room—how that had happened with neat freaks like Jade, Reighn, and Natalia around, I'd never know—and then started doing a little bit of yoga. It had been a very, very long time since I'd done this, but if nothing else, it was relaxing, and after yesterday, I needed it.

Especially since I'd be right back at it today.

Moving through the stances, I also paid close attention to how the Energies moved with me. This was something I'd noticed when I'd first started doing yoga for gym, that Energies would move in conjunction with my body.

"Are they supposed to be doing that?" Reighn asked.

I shrugged. "Not necessarily. But since I've got more spirit Energies than most, they do... This is part of the reason why I have such problems with backlashes too. Anyway... Care to join me instead of just sitting there staring at me?"

Reighn snorted, but got up and settled in behind me to my right. I started over from the beginning, and he followed through on the movements as I went, becoming less awkward about it. He took a deep breath at one point and let it out in a hum.

"This is... really relaxing."

I nodded. "Yeah. And helps with flexibility too, when I'm not in the mood to stretch of a morning. I think I'm about done with this though... going to go take Silver Clematis and re-familiarize myself with a very lightweight blade."

Reighn chuckled. "Haha. I understand how _this_ is relaxing, I fail to see how running through sword stances with your eyes closed is relaxing. Especially with a very poisonous weapon like that one."

I grinned. "Just takes practice." A final Tall Mountain, and I shook my arms out a bit before glancing around for my boots. Just where _had_ those gotten to...?

Well, there was one, by my cot. Now where was the other?

"What are you looking for?" Reighn asked.

I lifted the boot I'd found. "Boot. Other boot." A second to glance at the boot in my hand. "Left boot." Then I frowned. "...and steal everyone's left shoe..."

Huh.

I walked over to Flick's cot and checked under it.

I wasn't sure whether to be amused or disturbed by the fact that I'd found my other boot on the first try.

I pulled it out, put it on, put the right boot on, and then left the room, heading outside to find a good place to practice.

It was still very dark out. The sun was probably peeking over the horizon, but thanks to the fortress around Eldrant, the horizon wasn't visible, and we were a ways above it anyway. It would be almost nine by the time we got any reasonable amount of sunlight, and it would be gone again around four.

That was the only thing that kinda sucked about Eldrant, but there was nothing we could do about that.

And so it was that I ended up finding myself at one of many springs around the island, listening to the sound of the running water and moving through an imaginary battle at a slower speed than I would if I were in a real battle. It was just the familiar movements, the comforting feel of Silver Clematis in my hands, that really helped me to relax.

It wasn't too much longer before I became aware of another presence. Far enough away that, when I heard the other person start doing what I myself was doing, I knew we wouldn't ever come close enough to risk hitting each other.

The other person was using a heavier weapon, longer and with a wider blade, from the tone of the whistle I heard when it was swung through the air.

I executed a flourish and then paused temporarily to open my eyes and look at my companion.

...Asch?

But, that did explain some things. Like why he hadn't bothered me at Tataroo Valley after we'd lowered the Outer Lands. Where he sometimes disappeared to of a morning when he woke before he necessarily needed to. Why he always had a smile on his face when he was watching me do it these days.

I couldn't help but smile myself, now. Asch must not have watched me long, because just standing here, watching him move... it was captivating.

He'd grown used to Ultimatus over the last few weeks since he'd earned it, and it was really starting to show now, because his movements were smooth, and though they lacked the speed and power I knew he could put behind them during battle, I couldn't tear my eyes away, imagining the enemies each strike would take down, and seeing how his enemies were attacking that would require him to block in that manner...

Was this why _Sync_ had always watched me of a morning, when we were waiting for Asch to get up? Why he'd always been sitting there, wide-eyed and amazed, whenever I finished?

I could understand why now. It was an amazingly relaxing exercise on one end... and an awe-inspiring sight on the other end.

It was no wonder Asch had stopped complaining about me doing it, now that I could see he'd started doing it himself...

Asch stopped a moment later and looked over at me, a bit of pink dusting his cheeks. "Morning."

I smiled. "I'm quite tempted to walk over and glomp you right about now."

Asch turned a bit more red.

And really, while I really was rather interested in that, I did have other things I needed to get done this morning. Starting with trying to find the source of the taint in that one spring.

I sighed, pushed away from my rock and headed off in that direction. "So. How's Dark's recovery coming along?" I asked.

"Fairly well. He's finally stopped bitching about having to take it easy, at least, and he did a _lot_ of work yesterday. More than I think he should've done," Asch said. "However, that's beside the point. What are we going to do about that spring? The barrier won't hold it forever."

I shook my head. "It won't have to. If we can find the source of the taint and cleanse _that_ , it should have a bit of a ripple effect, and clean up the rest of the mess. Except that I'm not sure _what_ caused it, and I haven't gotten a chance to really look yet. And as it is, I need to leave again soon so I can go to the Gates. Those two passage rings aren't quite synced up with the others, so the self-repair programs, and every other program, for that matter, aren't working. I'll have to program each of them manually since the remote access is somehow messed up. Maybe figure out what's going on with that, too. And that also doesn't solve Natalia's evacuations problem. She's right about one thing—it's not fair to have all of Grand Chokmah's citizens on Eldrant but leave the rest of the world to fend for itself."

Asch grimaced. "There's not enough space for _everyone_."

I made a sour expression myself. "I've got a proposal, but I don't think many people are going to like it."

"Shoot. _Anything_ 's better than nothing."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** And Stitch!Flick makes a comeback! -breaks down laughing- I really don't plan this stuff. Honest!  
_


	29. Chapter 4-7 Part 29

_-creeps in and glances around- Doesn't_ look _like anyone's here..._

 _-lays chapter and a note on the ground and races off immediately-_

 _The note reads: "...Yeah, I spaced out again. Whoops. I have nothing to say in my defense... except possibly 'Tea went and got herself stuck since she's finally getting to the parts of BotM that she doesn't have to do MAJOR re-working on and has been bugging me ever since.'_

 _On that note, be on the lookout for her to start updating again sometime in the next month, since I know she's gotten herself a good backlog of chapters._

 _On another note... I will be back in a few days with the other late chapter, and this week's chapter will probably be posted on Sunday instead of Friday._

 _Once again, sorry for the late update!"_

* * *

" _Hey, it's my job to hover, attempt to look as imposing as a five-foot-tall seventeen-year-old can, and make sure no one hurts the Fon Master. I don't necessarily need to know all the details." –Rialle_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.7 – Creeping Shadows  
Part 29**

I glanced around. I hated meetings like these, where we all got together in a big circle.

I especially hated it if one or more of the leaders of the world was also here. Solace didn't count unless he was actually acting as the Fon Master, which was becoming rarer and rarer these days, as he seemed to leave more of the work to Florian and Aerith. Though, I had to admit, the two did fairly well running the Order of Lorelei, when Florian wasn't running around being overly childish. Of course, the replica had been locked up for two years, so none of us really begrudged him that childishness.

I crossed my arms and tried not to look too irritated, because this was one of those types of meetings I really, _really_ hated.

Reighn, Anise, Rialle, Asch, Luke, Cantabile, Solace, and I were standing in one area, Solace in front of the main group with Cantabile next to him, as she was the Commandant.

Peony stood over on another side, Jade next to him, albeit not in uniform—Flick seemed to have 'confiscated' his wing pack again, leaving him to run around in the only outfit he had left, his 'Evil Fonist' costume—with Nordheim, Sesemann, and Aslan Frings behind them, and Guy sort of hovering around that group.

Natalia and Dark stood representing Kimlasca, with Luke and Asch sort of floating back and forth between the two of them and the Order of Lorelei group.

The rest of our friends were tucked against the wall, not particularly associated with any group in specific.

I _hated_ meetings like this.

"Alright. Who called this one together?"

From the sounds of it, Peony hated them too.

I glanced at Asch. He'd been the one to call it, but I'd been the one to list off the things that had him making the decision to call it.

So I sighed and stepped forward, to Solace's other side. "Our list of problems seems to be growing by the hour."

Peony winced. "Not what I wanted to hear."

I shrugged. "I don't like it either, but all we can really do at this point is try to keep up. Gnome has the advantage, as much as I hate to say it," I said.

"Alright. Might as well start this logically. What are the biggest problems we have to deal with, and how much time to we have to deal with them in?" Solace asked.

I glanced back at Asch, and he stepped up. "Our main problem, quite plainly, is the fact that the majority of Auldrant's population is still on the surface... And, bluntly, we can't fit even half that number on Eldrant," he said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Aslan Frings muttered irritably.

Asch scowled, and I crossed my arms. "Best to put the obvious out there before pointing out the less obvious," I said. "In this case, the vision Lorelei showed Luke when he was released from the Core. Undine was _free_ , had to have been to have unleashed the sort of damage that was done to Grand Chokmah and Baticul in that vision. Myre's already on that, yes, though I'd like to have someone check up on her progress. Still, digressing..." I looked over at Asch.

"We can't fit _everyone_... But we should be able to get the majority of the women and children into Eldrant. That should at least ensure we have a future; hopefully more of one than Myre came from," he said.

Peony's eyes narrowed. "Wait... 'came from'?"

I nodded. "Myre has managed to tear a rift in the timeline, most likely with help from Lorelei. Not that our Lorelei is quite sure how or when... This is about as confusing for him as it is for us... But it sounds like his consciousness has basically been torn in two," I said. "At any rate, from as best I can tell, Myre came from about ten years in the future. It also explains some of what she knows. The passage rings, the monoliths... the flightstone she gave us. May also explain her hesitance to work with us. We're likely either all dead or... compromised."

No one has to ask what I mean when I say 'compromised'. My glance in Cantabile's direction makes it obvious enough. And from the sheer rage in her expression, she's not pleased that I've basically reminded everyone what happened to Sync.

"So you want us to evacuate the women and children here?" Jade asked. "That's going to take a while, even with you and Luke teleporting and the two Albiores. And you can't transport many people before you have to take a break."

What Jade doesn't mention is that Asch is terrified of using his hyperresonance like that. Which is why...

"I need to go to the Absorption and Radiation Gates. Those two passage rings aren't allowing me to access them remotely," I said. "And if I don't get _their_ self-repair programs going, the stress it'll put on the rest of the passage rings will more than likely send Eldrant plummeting back to the ground. If we're bringing anyone here, we need them taken care of, and I intend to take Asch with me."

Surprised looks get sent my way, and my eyes narrow. "Besides. Everyone's going to start panicking if we're evacuating the women and children. I think it would be best for Solace and a few others to return to Daath and make some sort of statement in regards to the evacuation order. Another group should go to Baticul and have King Ingobert start making preparations. That group should be able to move fast—alerting all of the city leaders before the Order of Lorelei gives the evacuation order should make things go a _little_ more smoothly. Though I say Baticul first since, aside from Daath, it's the most-populated city, discounting Grand Chokmah for obvious reasons."

Jade frowned. "One more problem. Even with just bringing women and children in, we likely won't have enough space for all of them, in addition to the people already here."

I tried not to look too guilty, but his grim return glance told me he understood.

"I'll see how many volunteers I can find before we have to start throwing weight around," he said.

Aslan, apparently realizing what Jade was talking about, blanched, then seemed to steel himself. "Jade. They'll probably need you elsewhere. Leave that to me," he said.

Jade gave Aslan a worried look, but then nodded and turned back to me. "So, how many groups do we need?" he asked. "I'm assuming three..."

I shook my head. "Of our group of sev—sixteen... we'll be split into even groups of four," I said before looking around. "Reighn, Dark, Luke, and Jade are going to stay here and see if you can figure out where the source of the taint from that one spring is. The four of you also have a secondary purpose—while I agree that it would be best if Aslan or another of the Malkuthian generals heads up the search for volunteers to return to the surface, some of the men who drank water from that fountain simply aren't going to make it. Callous as it may sound, they're taking up valuable space. Also, Luke's better at using his hyperresonance as a transportation technique."

Reighn crossed his arms. "So it's really just going to be me and Dark looking for the source of the taint, mostly? I thought I was on orders not to leave my body?"

"You are," I said. "But you have far more patience than Dark does when it comes to meditating and sitting still, and Jade has more finesse with Energies than Dark. He's going to mostly be covering the gaps between you and Jade. I'll tell you three exactly what you're looking for and how to go about it before I leave."

Rialle took a half-step forward to move into my line of sight. "Who are you planning to take with you to the Gates? Asch is good, but you'll probably need someone else to help cover your back," she said.

I nodded. "True, but I'm sending you with Cantabile, Solace, and Anise. You and Anise are Fon Master Guards, Cantabile's the Commandant, and Solace is the Fon Master. The four of you are needed in Daath." I glanced around at the remaining group, then scowled. "Natalia... I know you're worried about the citizens of Baticul... but you need to get in, give your father the message, and get back out fast. You'll be working with Flick, Seth, and Guy, and I plan to send one of the Albiores with you. Guy isn't the best pilot in the world, but he _can_ fly the Albiore III. Ginji still isn't clear to be flying, himself."

"So that leaves Selenia and myself with you," Tear noted.

I nodded. "Yeah. Selenia's got Gray Larkspur, and we've already proven that the poison on those blades works well enough against the pure-fonon enemies we've had to face previously," I said. "And while I'd be willing to send you with the Order group, I think Asch would be better suited as a melee fighter rather than a healer for this mission."

Asch didn't say anything, and Tear just nodded. "That's fine with me."

I crossed my arms and looked around. "Alright. I've addressed what we're _capable_ of doing right now. I'll leave the Order and Courier groups to figure out what you're going to do about the evacuation and letting the city leaders know what's going on. In the meantime... Jade, Reighn, Luke, Dark. I need to get the four of you briefed on what you'll be doing here."

Dark hummed, then went stiff and glanced over his shoulder. Then he relaxed again, and I frowned. "Dark?"

"Eraia's back. We found something in Grand Chokmah I think you're going to want to look at," he said, turning to look at me. I nodded. If it was so important that Eraia had been willing to separate from Dark, it took precedence over the tainted spring for the time being. Because I knew, as a Clockwork Guardian, Eraia would be vehemently opposed to leaving Dark.

It would be considered a betrayal of the trust placed in her, and that was something that Clockwork Creatures could be counted on for above all else—trustworthiness.

Once you'd gained their trust, at least. If they trusted you, they became eternally loyal...

And I really needed to tell Dark the implications of his Clockwork Creature friend, anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

I headed out after Dark, following him as he wandered around for a bit, because it didn't look like Eraia wanted to be anywhere near the tainted spring, but then, it wasn't the only one giving off a not-so-pleasant aura...

If it weren't for the fact that Luke was better with his hyperresonance-teleporting than Asch, I'd have left Asch behind, because he's got the most experience with Energies of all our friends who'd started learning so far.

Him, and Sync, who was, quite plainly, unavailable.

Once Eraia finally found a good enough spot, I noted that she went from being a ghostly image on the second plane to a very _solid_ image on the second plane. An image that was now ghostly on the first plane.

I knelt in front of her. "What'd you find?"

She opened her mouth, and a black crystal dropped to the ground.

A black crystal with what seemed to be a _black_ glow.

Oh dear...

"One of Dist's robots had that," Dark said.

I reached out and hovered my hand over the crystal. It was definitely a Midlight crystal, but to be so black...

I grimaced. "I was worried about that..." I murmured. Stupid Midlight crystals... I sighed and glanced at Dark, then at Eraia. No, those two had been exposed to it long enough...

Luke, Reighn, and Jade finally caught up to us, and I noted Rialle trailing along with them. When she saw my frown, she shrugged.

"Hey, it's my job to hover, attempt to look as imposing as a five-foot-tall seventeen-year-old can, and make sure no one hurts the Fon Master. I don't necessarily need to know all the details," she said. "Huh? What's that?"

...And she just solved my problem. Because Dark also had the White Lotus chakrams, and Jade had Gungnir and the problem of the fonic glyph in his eyes, and Reighn had Gold Wisteria, Luke was Lorelei's champion...

I stood, picking up the Midlight crystal with an Energy-coated hand, already starting to leech out bits of the negative Energies. Once they were all out, this would be so much safer, but we didn't have the time to waste right now.

"Rialle. I want you to go find Saphir. Ask him where his little bot found this," I said, holding the crystal up. "And have him meet us at the temple holding the passage ring. You need to come along, too. I can't risk giving this to anyone else."

Rialle tilted her head to the side, then nodded. "Okay. Um... What is it, before I go?"

I grimaced. "Ask again when you get back. So I only have to explain once. Because I don't think _Saphir_ knows what it is."

"Is it just me, or have you fully converted to calling Dist by his birth name?" Jade commented.

I smirked. "Dist was a cover, always _was_ a cover. The man that helped us in the Zao Ruins, who's been wandering around helping on Eldrant, is _Saphir_. So yes."

Jade shrugged. "Alright. Well, we'd best get going then... Round and round we go..."

"Where we'll stop, only I know... most of the time. If I don't know, then maybe ask Lorelei, if he's really, _really_ lucky," I teased.

Jade scowled at me, and I just grinned back, half-skipping all the way to the temple.

Then again, part of that was probably the fact that prolonged exposure to Midlight crystals, heavily-tainted or not, tended to have the same effect on me as coffee did.

Frightening thought, and all the more reason to try to get this done as quickly as possible.

Which was why Rialle found me sitting about where Van is kneeling in the end of the game, with my hands on the edges of a quickly-drawn Energy Circle.

"...That is the strangest fonic glyph I've ever seen."

I smirked. "It's not a fonic glyph. Which might be why." Then I frowned again. "Damn it, just let _go_ already you little—gotcha!"

A small ball of black shot out of the crystal, but didn't slip past the Energy Circle, as a small barrier had blocked it. I scowled. "Asch. Get that crystal out and _don't_ let that little buggard touch you."

Asch moved very quickly to do as I'd ordered.

The black thing, that looked sort of like a blob of flying slime, raced around the edges of the barrier, trying to escape.

Then I _shoved_.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So. Midlight Crystals. We don't get a lot of detail here, but over the next few chapters, you'll learn plenty, trust me._

 _By the way, that 'blob of flying slime' is now very much_ GONE _. Non-existent. Kairi quite literally shoves it out of existence in that last scene._

 _We should all be very grateful for this. (The 'why' will be explained later.)  
_

 _(Also, you gotta love Rialle's quote. You just gotta. 'Cause it's so true.)_


	30. Chapter 4-8 Part 30

_V-Gurl... You crack me up so bad sometimes. You successfully brought my mother into my room to figure out why I was having a fit of hysterical laughter at 4:30 in the morning. Congratulations._

 _On a more generalized note, for those of you who like the Kairi/Asch fluff... I give you the first section of this chapter. I know we've been lacking on fluff and major humor here lately, but there's only so much I can do about that. Though there's a good laugh in 5.6, though I'm still irritated with Asch for wrecking my planned plot. Oh well. It's since resolved itself.  
_

* * *

" _Normally I'd tell you not to go into the light, but this time, definitely do go into—oh. That's where the monsters went." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.8 – Creeping Shadows  
Part 30**

Asch's hyperresonance faded, and I felt him take a deep breath, still hugging me tightly. Then he pulled away and glanced at the two nearby. His relief was almost palpable.

I smiled at him, gave him a quick peck on the nose, and then started off down into the sephiroth.

When Asch sneezed a moment later, I cackled.

Whelp. Finally figured out where _he_ was ticklish.

"I don't get it..." Tear said, voice soft.

Selenia giggled. "I dunno either. But it was cute. Even the part where Asch sneezed."

I could _feel_ Asch sulking in the back of the group, and did my best to rein in my laughter. Poor guy, just got made fun of...

The first monster that attacked me was an eggbear, and I groaned, but drew Silver Clematis and ran in to face it.

 _That_ was a very short fight.

I frowned, then shrugged it off and continued.

"...That was anti-climactic."

I sighed. "Better boring than deadly, Selenia. Better boring than deadly. If they were strong, that would indicate more influence from Gnome. Which means he's not only _not here_ , he doesn't have a lot of power here."

I felt more than heard the suppressed whimper, and I bit my lip. "I know, Selenia. I know. But since it turns out Lorelei _can't_ reclaim Sync, we just have to wait until _I_ can get my hands on him. There's another option still, not that Sync's going to be especially pleased, but if it works, it works... Except that I'm still not sure if it'll work. But I'm hoping it will," I rambled. Best to let myself ramble so I wouldn't have to think too much about anything in particular.

"So... Out of curiosity. Since Midlight crystals are very distinctly—dear _gods_ it's dark down here."

Normally, I'd have teased Asch for channeling me and cutting off in the middle of a sentence, except that he brought up a good point. It wasn't supposed to be this dark... Was it?

No, it hadn't been this dark at all the last time I'd been down here. "Asch. Ask Luke if the lighting was off when he came down to erase the Planet Storm seal from when we lowered the Outer Lands," I ordered, all business once again.

Asch was quiet for a moment. Then a little longer...

"Asch?" Tear prompted.

"I can't contact him."

I slipped halfway out of my body and looked around, noticing that my ability to see suddenly went from zilch to 50%.

I looked over at Asch. Nothing off there.

I started looking around. Plenty of fonons...

But no Energies.

I reached out as far as I could, and noted with a sinking feeling that I was right. There were no Energies in the Radiation Gate... whereas before there had been thousands of sun and moon Energies...

Of course.

Sun and moon Energies, when forced into contact long enough, would provide light.

But where had all the Energies... gone...

"Oh no..."

"Kairi?" Selenia, still off to my right and behind me. I reached out.

"Move closer, don't let anyone get separated," I ordered. "Rem has some form of control over Energies, she has to have." It was the only explanation I could come up with. "Damn... Now I wish I'd kept that Midlight crystal instead of giving it to Rialle... Oh well. No use in wishing for a miracle. Let's go—half on the second plane like this, I can see well enough to maneuver us. Asch, you'd better jump too."

"Can't we just make a torch or something?" Selenia asked.

Asch grunted. "Only if someone has a match. There are literally _no_ Energies here... And I don't think we should stay long. I don't think this is going to be good for us."

"Not really, no," I confirmed. "But between you and me, we'll live. And it's not like Tear and Selenia are newborns."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tear asked.

Right. She knew basically nothing about Energies.

"Spirit Energies connect to and bind our souls to our bodies. Without at least one spirit Energy, you wouldn't be alive, because there would be no soul to attract the Energies needed for life," Asch explained. "So what happens if we're in this Energy Void too long?"

I winced. "First the elemental Energies in our Cores will stop getting drawn back in. We've already lost a few from the looks of it. Once we're out of elemental Energies to give up, the void starts pulling on the sun and moon Energies. I _could_ draw some Energies out of my Energy Core to light something on fire if needed, but I'd much rather save those and just stroll along half on the second plane if we can. At any rate, we run out of moon Energies, and our spirit Energies start floundering. I'd say we have about... oh, an hour or so before we desperately need to get out of here? And if Asch can't contact Luke, I don't think he can get us out via hyperresonance, either."

"I can't. I can't even feel the fonons I can _see_ , the lack of Energies has sealed my fonslots completely," he said.

I sighed. "Yeah, I was worried about that..."

"Wait, if our fonslots are sealed, how are we going to operate the passage ring?!" Selenia asked.

"Exactly."

It took a moment for my one-word answer to sink in, and when it did, Asch groaned.

"If we're coming down here for nothing..."

"Wait, is that a light?"

I looked forward, spotting what Tear had seen immediately, and I smirked.

"Yup. Come on. Normally I'd tell you _not_ to go into the light, but this time, definitely _do_ go into—oh. That's where the monsters went. Hold still, you two. Asch, don't let anything past me," I ordered, already letting go of Selenia's hand and running forward.

The monster, already weak from the lack of Energies around, was easy enough to defeat, though it did at least still have a little fight left in it.

As soon as the path was clear, Asch led Tear and Selenia down to where I was, and I took the front of our little train again, since Tear and Selenia couldn't see the path we were walking on.

We finally reached the level where the passage ring was and headed toward it, and I was pleased to note that the bubble of light Tear had seen really _was_ around the passage ring. So it was either causing this, or it was sparing itself. Or something. I'd know soon enough what was going on, that I was sure of...

Or at least, I was sure until I got to the edge of the light.

Then I got to throw an arm out to stop Selenia from walking straight into the Energy wall in front of her.

"Selenia, Tear. You two are on the first plane only. What do you see?" I asked.

"I can see the passage ring... it almost looks like it's glowing, to me, but it looks kinda... warped, too," Selenia answered.

"The same... Wait. Is there a barrier here?" Tear asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Same sort of barrier as what's around the Archives in Rugnica."

Tear hummed. "I see... You know. Shadow was able to get through _that_ barrier. I think he said something about slipping through cracks instead of trying to simply strongarm it? Something like that..."

I looked over at her, then at the Energy barrier in front of me.

Time was ticking on the clock. We had to get inside this barrier before our Energy Cores were starved, or we had to leave this Energy Void.

So I got to work in the best way I knew. By walking the length of the barrier that I could reach, and examining every inch of it. Because if Shadow could sneak through a barrier that had held for over three thousand years, one would think that a very likely hastily-made barrier like this one would have a _lot_ of exploitable cracks in it.

It took me almost ten minutes to find the crack.

Well. It was less a crack, and more a wrinkle. But it was there, and with some gentle manipulation, I realized that I could stretch an area thin enough for us to walk through, so long as we took it slowly.

"Over here. Move slow; it'll just act like a sheet of elastic if you try to move too fast," I said. "And definitely bend over. Take as little space as possible."

Tear and Selenia looked confused, but did so anyway, though it took Selenia two tries to figure out how fast she could go.

Asch was the last one through before I managed to work my way through myself.

The fact that I felt like I'd just taken a deep breath after being denied oxygen for too long was proof that we'd been cutting it far too close for comfort.

I stepped over to the passage ring and put my hand on the terminal. Time to see if I could figure out what was going on...

When the terminal started up and I realized where the Energies had gone, I felt rather... foolish.

"Rem's barrier."

"Huh?"

I sighed. "The barrier that stopped Asch from reaching me. It was anchored here, and at the Absorption Gate. That's why the remote access won't work—both passage rings are hoarding what fonons and Energies they can, because that Void around them is a result of Rem's barrier. It's been dropped now; I've been to the TimeStream recently and saw Rem there. She either knows that her barrier is pointless because I'm already here, or has realized it since. At any rate, she anchored the barrier using Midlight crystals. When three are activated within a certain area, all at the same time, they create an Energy Void. Knowing now what's causing it, I could probably find and break the circle, but it would take time. Time we don't have," I said.

"So... The Void outside here is because of Rem? But _why_ would she be able to use Energies? She's a _fonon_ sentience, and if Energies work as a barrier against them..." Selenia asked. I shook my head.

"Fonons are mutated Energies. I know Energies can manipulate fonons, but I've never _tried_ doing it the other way around. Never had a reason to," I replied. "So it may be possible, or she may have done something else to activate the Midlight crystals. Either way, that's not why we're here."

"Right, passage ring..." Asch muttered.

I opened up my usual programs, winced when I saw the trail of miasma I was leaving behind me, and then closed _that_ window.

It wasn't long before my fingers were once again flying across the keys.

"Damn, you type fast..." Asch noted.

I sighed. "Thank you for making that start to become _really_ repetitive."

"Sorry?"

There went the self-repair... Wait a second.

"Damn."

"I'm really starting to not like it when you do that," Selenia said. I hummed.

"Feel like going on a treasure hunt?" I asked. "Because that Void, while not affecting the fonon count in the area, is already hampering the self-repair system, because _that_ uses Energies. And this little bubble isn't enough to handle that for long. We have to get one of those Midlight crystals out of the circle and then deactivated."

Asch sighed. "How far out, and what direction?"

I took a moment to see if the fonon scan could tell me anything. As it turned out, it did.

"We're not in the exact center of the circle," I said, pulling up the map. "The closest one's over here, but you can't get to that ledge by foot, and I don't want you trying to step away from your Energy Core here. Best option would be _this_ one," I said, pointing to the second-closest crystal, as well as the path that would take Asch to it. "There's no Energies, so I'd use Ultimatus to bat it further out, collapse the circle outward. That'll keep it from rebounding on our little shield here."

Asch nodded. "Noted." He took another couple moments to study the map before he left in that direction, and I quietly wished him luck.

While Asch was dealing with the anchors, I was going to finish the programming. Because with the self-repair now up and going, I had to adjust all the fonon intakes, and then the outputs, and then set everything up for the fonons that would be riding the links between the passage rings...

By the time Asch found the Midlight crystal and had moved it out of alignment, I was about half-finished.

He came back carrying it, and giving it the oddest look. I frowned, because this one was definitely bigger than the one Saphir's bot had found.

"Asch. Put that on the ground," I ordered.

He hesitated, but the stern look I gave him had him putting it down like I'd told him.

"You know, there's a reason you're not supposed to touch those things unless they're bound to you," I said, turning back to the passage ring. Everything was up and running, the Energies were slowly returning now that the void ring was gone... Yup. Looked like I was done here.

"What _are_ they?"

I sighed. "Pure Energies. Mostly earth, moon, and sun... Judging from the blue-ish shade to that one, it's got quite a few water Energies in it, too. Midlight crystals are beautiful, powerful, and excellent sources of magic when used correctly... but they're also easy to _mis_ use. That's how you end up with black Midlight crystals like the one Saphir's bot found and replaced its power cell with, or the crystals that made the Void right here. They really shouldn't be used like that, but oh well..."

"Wait, the crystal Rialle took had a green tint," Tear pointed out.

"Earth. That crystal is pure earth, which is actually a rarity, even for Midlight crystals... Alright. I'm done with the passage ring." I turned, walked over the Midlight crystal, and knelt, holding my hands over it and pulling up as many earth and moon Energies as I could with the lack of them around.

Those were shoved into the crystal, and its glow dimmed considerably. Half on the second plane, I saw the Energies that made up its inner layers cease moving.

Now that it was deactivated, I picked it up and put it in my bag. Then I started looking around. Not enough Energies for that first one yet, but we could go get the third one for now.

"Come on. I want to get these all deactivated, and then hopefully bound. Because an unmarked Midlight crystal is one that's free for use by anyone. Not really helpful, since we now know Rem can use them," I said.

Selenia nodded. "Alright. Where to next?"

I pointed off to what was currently my right. "That way... and up."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Haha, Asch channeling Kairi. Let's hope he stops at cutting off mid-sentence, hm? (Which he hasn't, as he's also developed her ability to derail my planned plots. Actually, no. That's just a character thing in general around me... though Kairi seems to be the ringleader.)  
_


	31. Chapter 4-9 Part 31

_Ha. Haha. I love Selenia's quote..._

 _Lots of telepathy in this one—so glad I actually did Find-Replace in MSWord before uploading. 73 sets of asterisks people. 73. That may possibly be some kind of record._

 _Not that I know, or especially feel like going to check. I just think it might be one._

 _We are_ almost _caught up now, I think. The next chapter is the one that's supposed to go up tomorrow. It'll go up either Sunday or Monday, and then the next one will be on Friday, like it's supposed to be._

 _Note to self, need to go get covers ready for Chapter 5, since 5.1 is the only one with a cover ready..._

 _Oh! Hey! **Since we are just a little over a month out from Halloween, I want you guys to pick one of the Ripples pairings!** (With the exception of Asch and Kairi, because they have a pic already.) I will draw the pairing you choose in costumes._

 _ **I have a poll up on my profile** , or if you're reading on your phone and it doesn't like you trying to vote in a poll, you can send me a PM or leave a review. (Or even if you can vote, I guess you can get an extra vote in for you favorite pairing by mentioning it in a review or PM, 'cause I can't see who votes in the polls...) Anyway, **poll will come down October 25th** , so definitely get your votes in._

 _In the meantime, enjoy!_

* * *

 _*...I knew I hated math for a reason.* –Selenia_

* * *

 **Chapter 4.9 – Creeping Shadows  
Part 31**

I breathed a sigh of relief as the latest Midlight crystal deactivated. *Alright. That's mine. Asch?*

*I've _had_ mine,* he said. *Selenia?*

*Got it, working on getting the blasted thing to deactivate. I must not be giving it enough Energies or something...* she grumbled.

*Earth and moon, Sel,* I reminded her. *In about equal amounts, too.*

*...That might be my problem,* she noted. A moment later, I heard a triumphant 'ah-ha!' *Got it! Thanks, Kairi!*

I smiled and shook my head. *Tear? How you feeling?* She'd been awfully quiet this whole time...

*I'd be better if you hadn't collapsed the Void circle inwards,* she said.

I frowned. *Who got to their crystal first?* I asked.

There was a moment of silence.

*...I think I did,* Asch said. *But I'd have _sworn_ I knocked it the right direction...*

I crossed my arms. *That's odd. Kicking it outward worked perfectly at the... oh. Whoops. No, this one was _my_ bad.*

*But I thought Asch got to his crystal first?* Selenia asked. I couldn't help it, I laughed.

*No, not that. Think about it. At the Radiation Gate, which implies outward movement and _positive_ flow, kicking the crystal outward sent the circle collapsing in that direction, like it was supposed to. Here, though, at the Absorption Gate, the movement and flow are inward and _negative_. We needed to kick a crystal _inward_ to collapse the circle _outward_. Like how two negatives make a positive in multiplication,* I said.

*...I knew I hated math for a reason,* she replied.

I laughed a bit more, picked up the crystal I'd neutralized, and then headed back in toward where Tear was waiting by the passage ring. Which reminded me... *You okay, Tear? Nothing out of alignment?*

*...I'm not sure. I feel... off... so I'm just going to stay right here until you or Asch gets back,* she said.

*I'm almost back. My path looks like it was the shortest, and I started back the moment I got my crystal deactivated,* Asch said. *Anything in particular I need to watch out for?*

I hummed and thought about it as I moved around a boulder in the way. *Well, make sure her Core's flowing the correct direction, for her at least. Remember that Tear's Energy Core is reversed naturally. If the problem isn't there, check the levels of the elemental Energies. She should be fairly earth aligned, with wind as her weakest element,* I said. *Water and fire are about equal.*

*Noted.*

*At that point, if you don't find anything, I'll take a look myself, just to be sure. Some of what I would think to look for, you wouldn't have a clue where to start,* I said. And not for lack of trying—I knew terms for specific parts of the Energy Core, or where the Core would sometimes send bursts of Energies to in the body. Asch didn't know those terms yet...

I'd have to fix that. Later.

I made it back just as Asch was standing up, looking a bit miffed. "A few negative Energies, and a slightly disrupted flow, but that was all _I_ found," he said. I nodded, knelt in front of Tear, and looked her over myself. This wasn't exactly something we could really afford not to be careful with.

But Asch had done a good job, and aside from a slight imbalance in sun and moon Energies, which I couldn't actually correct without possibly harming Tear, she was fine. The imbalance would work itself out in a few days. She'd just be a bit off hormonally until then.

Selenia was the last back, carrying the largest Midlight crystal I'd ever seen.

Then again, on Earth, the largest Midlight crystal I'd ever found had been about the size of my iPod nano, though _most_ had been quarter-sized at the largest. The tainted crystal Eraia had had me cleanse had been a bit bigger than my iPod nano, and the ones at the Radiation Gate had all been about twice _that_ size.

This one was roughly the size of a football.

I took it from her and then noticed the coloring, the odd shimmery silver it seemed to be, and I shifted it a bit as I looked it over.

Yeah, it really was.

"So. Not only do we find what essentially passes for a _giant_ crystal, it happens to be primarily concentrated _moon_ Energies, which happens to be the rarest occurrence of all," I muttered. "Methinks I'm going to _hide_ this one. And hope that Rem can't trace it just from the blasted moon Energies."

Asch looked amused. "Yeah, that's a bit big for any of us to just carry around... Would it be possible to maybe break it up at all?"

I shook my head. "Not without causing the Energies making it up to completely disperse. Anyway..." I tucked the large crystal into my bag, albeit after pulling the three crystals from the Absorption Gate and the one I'd just deactivated here out. "Asch, hold onto these. They really shouldn't be in contact with this thing, and considering the size of my bag..."

He nodded, totally understanding.

"So, now that we've got the passage rings figured out, Rem's barrier completely destabilized, and a few more Midlight crystals accounted for, what's next?" he asked.

I crossed him arms. "Contact Luke, first," I ordered. He nodded and did so, and it didn't take me long to link myself, Tear, and Selenia into it.

*Yeah?*

*Are you in Eldrant or making a surface run?* I asked.

*I'm just outside St. Binah right now, but as soon as that little girl and her mother get over here, I'm making a jump back to Eldrant, then taking a short break. Why?*

*I need you and Asch to keep the connection open at Eldrant so I can work through it to talk to Jade. He needs to look at the passage ring for me.*

I could feel Luke wince on the other end.

*Jade's... er... Disappeared.*

*What?!*

Yeah, Luke definitely cringed.

*He came down with me when I made a trip to Chesedonia, but then walked off and I couldn't find him. I've been making regular stops back there, but haven't found him _still_ ,* Luke said.

I groaned. *Fine. Then I might as well send you to do it. Neither Reighn nor Dark knows what they're doing with the passage rings at all, and while Reighn is better with computers, you at least have worked with the passage rings previously.*

*Right. Gimme just a sec. Asch and I can't hold this through a hyperresonance,* Luke said. I nodded and pulled back, and waited for Asch to give me the all-clear to reconnect.

"Can't we just go back to Eldrant ourselves?" Tear asked. I shrugged.

"Asch doesn't like teleporting via hyperresonance, so I'm not going to ask him to do it more than he has to. But I need to check the Eldrant passage ring because this one is still not synced up with the rest of them yet," I said. "Once I've gotten an idea of what's going on outside the Gates, I can tell you where we'll be going next."

Asch hummed. "He's back."

I took that as my not-so subtle cue to reconnect.

*Alright, I'm almost to the passage ring. Dropped everyone just outside. What did you need, and which terminal do I need to be working from?*

I smiled. *Bottom one. Top one is mostly used for the fomicry and anti-grav tech now,* I said. *Anyway, get it all opened up. You know the passwords, right?*

*Yeah. Not like you've changed anything on me,* Luke said. *So, why am _I_ doing this instead of you doing it from the Absorption Gate?*

I rolled my eyes. *Luke, open it up and look at the two Gates on the main diagram.* There was a moment of silence that followed my grumble, and then a rather dumb-sounding 'oh'. *Yeah. 'Oh.' Well, now that you're done asking me stupid questions, start looking through the programs I've got up and running across all the passage rings. The one you want, I've labeled 'Sentience Tracker'. Well, actually it's a fonon level tracker, but since the sheer number of fonons that have to collect in a single area to indicate a sentience create a bright enough dot of color to become visible on that screen, it serves its purpose.*

*You're trying to find someone in particular?* Luke asked.

*Yeah, Ifrit. From what Dark and Natalia said, he was definitely willing to side with us. I want to try to extend that hand of friendship again. Especially since he stopped Gnome from hitting anyone else with those mind-control orbs,* I said.

It took Luke a few moments to find the right program, and once he'd opened it, I heard a rather confused-sounding 'um'.

*I'm going to guess there's not a high enough concentration of fifth fonons _anywhere_ for it to show on that one, is there?* I asked.

*Nope. I can see Shadow, and I'm guessing the orange is Lorelei... Uh, Gnome's at the Radiation Gate with Rem.*

I grimaced. *So Rem noticed us breaking up her little barrier. Not good... Luke, if you've got it open on the carousel, you want the screen second to the left of the current one.*

Another pause, and then he hummed. *Still looking for fifth fonons?* he asked.

*Yeah.*

*Mt. Zaleho's the obvious one, but there's a fairly large bit... um... North of Mt. Roneal? There's also a _lot_ of fourth fonons there,* Luke said.

I frowned. *North... At the northernmost edge of Sylvana?* The location lined up with Nebilim's Crag, but those fonon levels had never been anything like _that_ before. Fourth fonons, of course, but also a lot of second and third fonons.

Never fifth fonons.

*Yeah.*

I took a deep breath. *Then Myre's likely found and unsealed Nebillim. That should be our next destination.*

*One problem, I've never been in that area,* Asch said.

*But I have.*

I blinked. *Lorelei? When'd you jump into this?*

*He noticed Asch contacting me earlier and decided to poke me literally the moment I got to Eldrant, before I could contact you guys again,* Luke replied. *So I take it you four... five... are making a side trip to... wherever that is?*

*Nebillim's Crag. Which means Myre might be there,* I noted. *Either way, it won't be long before Gnome realizes he can reach Myno's monolith now. Once that happens, I'll have to remember to grab a piece of the shattered monolith. Well, and we'll have to hope we can get out of there before Gnome destroys it.*

*No kidding.*

*Uh, Kairi?! Get out of there!*

I glanced around on the second plane, seeing what Luke could see from the passage ring. *Right. Asch, the ruins of Keterburg,* I ordered.

*I'll meet you there,* Lorelei added.

Tear and Selenia moved in quickly, and by the time enough fonons gathered for Gnome to materialize, the four of us were already enveloped in a hyperresonance... and leaving.

We landed in what used to be Nephry's back yard, and my heart clenched as I looked around.

Keterburg had been burnt to the ground... because of me. Because Zion was a damn vindictive little arsonist who'd decided to set the entire city on fire when I refused to cooperate with him.

And while the blame for setting the fire laid on Zion, I couldn't help but feel guilty, myself.

I hadn't been back here since I set a blaze up on Mt. Roneal using just the wild fire Energies raging around me. Hadn't managed to make it back. I'd wanted to, to pay respects to those who'd died in the fires and apologize, but I'd gotten caught up in Order work, and then the attack in Northern Chesedonia had kick-started the return to the game events...

I'd never made it back...

Lorelei wasn't here yet, so I started walking around. I knew there was a small memorial that had been set up at what used to be the center of the city, just north of the casino but south of the hotel, and that was my destination.

Every name of every human and liger who'd perished in the fire had been carved on that memorial... Including Sorylle's mother, Illeka, who'd followed me and Evena after Zion, the clanmate she'd died trying to get out of the snow, and one Valon Fende.

Tear and Solace had never figured out what name the boy had actually gone by. The Clan records had only ever referred to him as 'Valon', so they'd given him the Clan name for the memorial.

I finally found it and knelt next to it, feeling oddly like a certain silver-haired jounin from Naruto as I looked over the various names. Some of them, I vaguely recognized. Many had been members of the Ladies' Society... Including Lady Millie, who'd been my primary contact for getting Asch's birthday party arranged.

But there were other names I knew. A maid from Nephry's mansion, a few of their family members, a man I was sure was Arielle's father...

And the _ligers_. I took a moment to do a quick estimate, and swallowed harshly.

There were far more ligers than there were humans, and right at the top was Illeka, given a place of honor for having been one of the two leading liger queens.

Snow crunched under heavy footsteps, but not a human's, and I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Evena walking over.

She growled softly and nudged me, and I immediately snapped a connection into place, too familiar with working with her son.

*Twilight hasn't traveled with you for a while,* she noted immediately. *His scent is fading.*

I nodded. *We found ligers on an island that desperately needed an alpha,* I replied. *And as the choice was Twilight or Sorylle... there was no choice. Dark needs Sorylle far more than I needed Twilight.*

She sat down next to me. *What is it about this stone that entrances you so?*

I hummed and pointed to the names that had been marked with a paw print. *See all of these...? I'm guessing Dark asked for the names of every liger that died in the blazes, because that's what these are.*

Evena went still, eyes raking over it and counting up the pawprints.

*They missed one... Never mind.*

I smiled slightly and tapped Illeka's. *I'm sorry.*

*You shouldn't apologize. If the red-furred one I'd been fighting hadn't pushed me onto a sheet of ice, I would have been in the line of fire as well, but I certainly don't blame you for what happened to Illeka. You didn't intend to unleash that blaze, I'm sure.*

*No. I didn't,* I replied.

I sighed, eyes raking over the human names again.

It wasn't much longer before Asch found me, and though I heard a distinctive pause in his step that told me he was surprised by Evena's presence, he joined me a moment later.

"Lorelei's here."

Right.

I stood up and nodded.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _No, I did not forget about the Burning of Keterburg. And, for information's sake, there are roughly two hundred names on the monument altogether. 70% of them are ligers._

 _The ligers did a very good job of getting the citizens out alive._


	32. Chapter 5-1 Part 32

_Okay, HUGE apologies for falling a month behind on updates! I've finally gotten my Excel workbook worked out again (to be honest, I stopped using it because I'd dropped down to just one story to update, and then got an AO3 account and now I'm posting Re:ARitA over there, so I really need the workbook back before I completely confuse myself, more than I have already, at least). Hoping to get caught back up by next Friday, since we're coming up very close to NaNoWriMo time._

 _BTW, An Echo through Time is officially my main project for NaNo again this year. This now makes 3 years in a row I've worked on a Ripples story for NaNo, and that's disregarding the fact that AEtT was on my list in both April and July for Camp NaNo._

 _Anyway, moving on... Remember that the Halloween Poll comes down on Tuesday! Currently tied between Luke/Aerith and Seth/Flick, but as there's only one vote each, I'm sure you guys could probably pick someone else if you want. (Sync/Selenia has been pulled down, by the way, due to a decision having been made to do that one for Christmas instead.)_

 _So, here we go, Chapter 5! Finally! If things weren't active enough before, they're about to really pick up speed._

* * *

" _Dark. Don't do that. Bad enough Shadow does it." –Luke_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.1 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 32**

 **Dark's POV**

I sighed, got up, and started walking around. Maybe if I just wandered for a bit instead of trying to find that blasted taint source the same way Reighn was looking, I'd have more luck? I wasn't really the meditating type, anyway, and from the looks of the red cape, Jade was meditating himself.

So, with those two doing that, I was going to just _look_.

Sorylle padded up to me irritably, and I sighed. "Nothing?"

"The whole blasted island smells off. I can't catch a proper scent between all of the humans and the odd smell," she said.

I grimaced. "Then I think we need to figure out what's causing the odd smell. Was it here the last time we were here, when we fought Danté?"

Sorylle was quiet for a moment. "No. And actually, it smells almost like diluted miasma."

I stopped and stared at her a moment.

Miasma. It smelled like miasma.

Two of the other springs had been tainted by miasma. And then that one, really dangerous one was tainted by negative Energies, which Kairi said followed death?

I took a deep breath and made a beeline for the temple. We'd fought Mirage right outside there, and that Mystic Arte she'd unleashed had used _miasma_.

I'd just managed to reach the steps when I saw the familiar flash of light that heralded either Luke, Asch, or Lorelei teleporting in, and I headed up at a run, noting the group of women and children heading down, likely to join the rest of the refugees.

Luke was the one here, and he was headed into the temple... Huh. Well, might as well figure out what _he's_ up to. Especially since the only thing in there is the passage ring.

The passage ring that, by the time I caught up to him, he had open and running. I noticed the wheel of different windows that was open, and saw him sifting through them. He finally paused on one, which, if I read correctly, had been labeled 'Sentience Tracker'.

After a moment, he moved two over, and I noticed that this one had splashes of color across it. Mostly blues and greens and browns, with a large brown spot down where I figured the Radiation Gate was, and a gold spot next to it. There was an orange spot in Daath, and a purple one in St. Binah...

Wait. Could this be... a fonon tracker?

So the concentrated dots had to indicate fonon sentiences.

So which one was Luke looking for?

It wasn't long before he nodded, seemingly to himself, and then went very tense.

I glanced at the screen myself, and it was no wonder why.

The second fonons that had been at the Radiation Gate were swiftly moving up to the Absorption Gate.

A small blip of orange showed up right before they congregated again, and another blip appeared about where Keterburg... used to be.

I figured that had to be Asch jumping around.

Luke seemed relieved, and he closed down the passage ring before turning around and jumping slightly. Then he sighed. "Dark. Don't do that. Bad enough Shadow does it."

I chuckled. "Sorry. Kinda followed you in here. Was wondering what you were doing with the passage ring... You were contacting Asch, weren't you?" It was the only thing that made sense.

Luke shrugged. "He contacted me, actually. Kairi needed me to check something, since the Gates still aren't synced up with the rest of the system."

"Looking for a specific sentience?"

"Ifrit, actually, though we can't really find him. There's a weird reading north of Mt. Roneal, though, and Kairi thinks Myre might have gotten the seal over the Nebillim replica released, so they're headed there. Asch and I've never been there, but Lorelei has, so he's going to go pick them up and take them," Luke said. I sighed.

"Damn. I was kinda hoping Kairi would be getting back soon..."

Luke frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

I shook my head and gestured for Luke to follow me, heading back outside to where we'd fought Mirage. Then I knelt, feeling around me for the negative Energies we'd been seeking out.

Sure enough, about two yards down, there was a very, very thick group of them... and it looked like it just got worse the further down you went.

Luke knelt to get a feel for him himself, and grimaced. "Oh."

I sighed. "Well. We found the source of all our problems. Now how are we supposed to cleanse it when it's that far under the surface?"

Luke hummed. "I'm not sure. And I don't think I dare use my hyperresonance here. Asch was trained to do the fine stuff, I wasn't, and this is definitely going to take _his_ delicate touch."

I snorted. "Don't let _him_ hear you say he's got a delicate touch."

Luke shrugged. "I've said it before, and he's admitted it. It's only in regards to his hyperresonance... Actually, no, I take that back. Anything to do with the seventh fonon or Kairi. Outside of that, he's about as delicate as I am."

"Which is to say, not at all."

"Okay, you know what? Just shut up already."

I snickered.

"Oh dear. Lover's quarrel?"

I reached over and smacked the colonel. Hard.

Then noticed Luke's frown. "When the hell did you get back?!"

Jade smirked. "There are definite perks to dragging Saphir around with me. Annoying as he may be, his ability to communicate with Shadow helps mitigate it."

Luke face-palmed, and I crossed my arms. "Okay. Jade's been meditating for about an hour. So why the surprise?" I asked.

Luke groaned. "I took him with me when I made the Chesedonia trip four hours ago and he didn't come back up with us. I didn't see Saphir in the middle of that mix, though."

"That would be because he headed to Chesedonia before we did," Jade said. "He needed to talk to Din about something, since the Dark Wings vanished while we were evacuating Grand Chokmah."

I nodded at the mention of my cousin. "Probably wise. While Noir may not like it, she does fall into our 'women and children' category, and I'm thinking York might manage to get one of the byes to come with her," I said. "Anyway, Din needs to figure out what she's doing, herself."

Jade nodded. "Which is exactly why Saphir went down to talk to her." He paused and glanced between the two of us. "So. What happens to be the latest news up here?"

I sighed. "Well, Kairi's team made a detour to Nebillim's Crag. Looks like Myre finally got the seal broken, or something. We found the source of the taint, and I know exactly how it happened, too. And... Nope. Nothing else on our end yet."

"Did I hear you say you found the source?"

I nodded at Reighn. "Yeah. You finally get sick of meditating?"

Reighn sighed. "Something like that." He turned to look at Luke. "There's a spring off on the eastern side that's got miasma in it. Not a lot, but best to nip that problem in the bud if we can."

I frowned. "It'll stop it for now, but until we get rid of the massive knot of miasma and tainted Energies down here," I jabbed a finger down at the ground under my feet, "it's just going to keep cropping up. Let's just hope the only spring that draws up the mass amounts of negative Energies is that one, though. Miasma, Luke can deal with. Negative Energies are a totally different story, regardless of how much we can neutralize in a couple hours. When there's that many of them..."

Luke nodded. "Right, I..." He trailed off and glanced off to the side. Then he sighed. "Looks like Myre jumped in over her head trying to fight the Nebillim replica by herself. Lorelei's on his way with her, while Kairi and the others deal with Nebillim."

Jade's expression became grim. "Does Asch mind a little more help?"

Luke was silent for a moment. "If you want to. They could use another fonist, since Selenia and Kairi are switching back and forth which one's casting and which one's attacking. Asch and Tear are both healing full-time."

Reighn groaned. "I'll go too. I gotta get out of here, and even if it's just for a fight, it's somewhere other than Eldrant and something to do other than just sitting around."

"Then brace yourselves."

I wasn't all that startled by the fact that the golden-orange glow had appeared and disappeared so quickly, taking Jade and Reighn with it and leaving a rather rough-looking Myre behind.

I wasn't the greatest healer in the world, but that didn't mean I didn't know a few healing artes...

"Halo!"

Myre grunted as the worst of her wounds sealed up.

Then she snapped up into a seated position. "Where—?!"

"Easy," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You got hurt pretty bad. Lorelei brought you back here for the time being. The others are dealing with Nebillim."

Myre blinked up at me, and for a moment, the only person I could see was...

But that couldn't be right... could it?

What Kairi had said before made me take a second look. Ten years. Myre was from ten years in the future...

And was getting to her feet. "What the hell are they thinking...?!"

I shrugged. "I'm thinking that Kairi's played the game enough to know _how_ to fight Nebillim... and obviously whatever you were doing wasn't it."

Myre gave me the most baffled look. "Game...?"

I grinned. "Now... _that_ is something for Kairi to tell you."

She got this irritated look on her face and then walked off, obviously not interested.

I sighed. "Do yourself a favor and _don't_ try to get in Kairi's way. I meant what I said—she more than likely knows what she's doing."

"I have other things I need to get done," Myre called back. "But while I'm not going to try to fight that damn... _thing_ again... I _will_ do what must be done afterwards. Because Kairi doesn't know _everything_."

I raised an eyebrow. "She'd know a bit more if you were more forthcoming with information."

That Myre paused and then bothered to flip me off before disappearing in one of her Energy Circles had me smiling.

So... the little girl I knew _was_ still in there... somewhere.

Luke frowned at me. "What's got you so pleased?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it too much. So, you've got a spring to go deal with, and I need to find something mildly useful to do..."

Luke hummed. "How about trying to clear out the monsters in the fortress? There are still plenty of them, after all, even if the fomicry machines creating them have been shut down. The Malkuth military's been too busy keeping people calm and organized to do anything about them."

I nodded. "An excellent idea. Thanks." And if nothing else, that would get me and Sorylle both out of the way. I knew she was getting more than a little stir crazy herself... "Ready to go?" I asked.

Sorylle nodded, and then turned and looked over her shoulder in such a familiar manner that I felt a pang of heartache. Oh how I missed Koran right then, but there was no bringing back the dead.

So I jumped onto her back and held on as she started running. Because that was all I really could do, when she started moving as fast as she was right then.

She knew that we both needed some time away from _people_.

Heck, I'd spent most of my life avoiding people. So all of the social niceties I'd had to learn since becoming Natalia's bodyguard... those had been foreign. Still were rather foreign, though I'd been told I'd taken to being a soldier damn well.

She finally reached a spot near the outer fortress, and I noticed the sheer number of monsters in this area. I grinned and summoned up the White Lotus chakrams.

"Time to clear house."

Sorylle yowled a cross between an agreement and a battle cry before charging right in, and I ran in after her, swinging, twisting, twirling much as it pained me to admit it...

It didn't take us long to clear the first area out, and that was when I noticed Eraia. "Hey, there."

She tilted her head to the side as she looked at me. "This way. There's another group, larger."

I nodded and gestured for her to lead us to them, and it didn't take her long to do so.

She was right; the second room was larger, and almost completely packed. I grinned. Now this... _this_ was the sort of challenge I needed.

I'd gotten too damn used to having a full group behind me. But right now? Right now it was just me, and Sorylle. And technically Eraia, who had already run off, likely to find our next group for us.

I made a mental note to ask Kairi what to give her in thanks. Because I really didn't think making Koran's favorite meatloaf would work for a Clockwork Creature.

Speaking of which, she _still_ needed to tell me more about those...

Sorylle growled at me to get my head back in the game, and I launched into a Ring Whirlwind to simultaneously damage and shove away the enemies that had surrounded me.

Those enemies quickly regrouped, but by then, so had Sorylle and I, and thanks to the poison on the White Lotus chakrams, it didn't take long for a few of the monsters to simply die.

The rest, Sorylle and I worked quickly to make short work of.

Eraia jumped in near the end, running through each monster. Each time she passed through them, they seemed to become weaker, until they simply flopped over and died.

So, even though she wasn't on _this_ plane, she was able to help. That was excellent.

I smirked, tossed one of the chakrams, and then launched a DelQues with my now-free hand before jumping up to catch the returning chakram.

Sorylle growled a warning, and I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit by one of the garuda-class monsters.

Then she growled again, before unleashing an Ice Stream, and I smirked, jumped back, and started casting, trusting her and Eraia to keep them away from me.

"O vile wyrm of the dunes, grant judgment! Sandstorm!"

Sorylle roared into the field of fonons, and any monsters that hadn't been killed by my Sandstorm were promptly ended by her Glacier Stream.

I glanced around. Well, that did it for this room...

Eraia made a few irritable click-whir sounds, and it took me a moment to translate them. Once she did, I hummed.

"I'll have to ask Kairi if she knows where to find another one," I said. Because if having a Midlight crystal would help me materialize her... Then okay. That's what I'd do.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _And herein we find multiple things! Proof that Dark is still plenty deadly even on his own (he_ was _raised an assassin, after all), Eraia starting to push herself a little further into the spotlight, and a little more info on the taint in the spring._


	33. Chapter 5-2 Part 33

_So. The Nebillim replica... (If I can ever spell these two words correctly... Or_ say _them, for that matter.)_

 _I have a love-hate relationship with this particular fight. On the one hand, it's easy enough, once you learn the trick to it. On the other hand... it's a pain in the ass. And long. Very annoyingly long._

 _We should be caught up by the time I upload on November 4th, if I can keep uploading every couple of days. Remember, that poll comes down tonight, so there's just a few hours left to vote!_

 _Enjoy._

* * *

 _*What I wouldn't give for_ this _to optional right now...* –Asch_

 _*You sound far too calm to be cursing like that...* –Selenia_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.2 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 33**

Once the glow from Lorelei's hyperresonance stopped blinding me, I realized that we'd made it just in the nick of time.

Because there was the Nebillim replica, hovering over Myre, and Myre wasn't moving.

"Asch, Lorelei, contact Luke! Lorelei, get Myre out of here!" I ordered, already racing in and unleashing a DelQues immediately followed by a Guardian Field.

Because that shoved Nebillim back just far enough to get her off of Myre, and kept both of them in range of my Guardian Field, which simultaneously hurt Nebillim and healed me and Myre.

Lorelei ran in to grab Myre, while Asch and Tear scattered to opposite sides of the cavern. Wise of them.

*She favors wide-range fonic and Mystic Artes, so be ready to do a _lot_ of healing,* I warned them. *Also, don't stop moving around if she's targeting you.*

*Noted,* Asch grunted before running out of the way of a rapidly-cast Limited. I ran in to see what I could do about distracting Nebillim.

Which, as it turned out, was not a whole lot when the next thing she did was drop a Blessed Drops on Tear, who didn't quite move out of the way in time.

From the circle around Asch's feet, he was already healing her. Excellent.

Lorelei came back with two other shapes, and I raised an eyebrow at Reighn and Jade for a moment before deciding that any help would be appreciated. *Be careful, if she starts targeting you, _move_ ,* I repeated, rolling under an attack and then racing off to the side as Selenia ran in, her Angel Feathers having missed the very much mobile Nebillim.

I started casting as quickly as I could, a blue Infernal Prison going up under Nebillim just a moment later, and I was able to run and avoid the next Blessed Drops she unleashed.

"Damn she's fast..." Reighn grumbled, before unleashing a Crackle almost as quickly as Nebillim had used Blessed Drops. It was the only arte he could cast so rapidly, and while it wasn't the most powerful arte in his arsenal, it at least did some damage.

More damage than Selenia's Angel Feathers was doing, since she kept missing.

She finally lost her temper and just stuck to swinging around Gray Larkspur, running and throwing the occasional DelQues in when she felt like it.

I knew that would probably be her best bet, since she was neither a healer nor an exceptionally faster caster... and actually...

I left a few Energies and fonons in one spot and race over to another one, pulling out my bow since I had just a moment to do so, and firing an arrow or two before running back over.

The Demonic Star that followed was no longer pure sixth fonons, I noted.

Because there was nothing that maroon mist surrounding it could be other than miasma.

That having been cast, I ran around for a bit, set another fonon anchor, and then move and set _another_ before running back to the first.

Again, my attempt at a regular Demonic Star was wreathed in miasma...

And oddly sapping my energy much less than usual.

Huh.

Well, Dark _did_ say it was unfinished when he taught me, and I'd never gotten around to experimenting with it before.

That was interesting...

I rolled under and away from what I think was supposed to be a Quake Stroke and made it back over to my other anchor, another Infernal Prison catching the Nebillim replica by surprise.

"Well, this is going to take a while," Jade grumbled, noting that the replica didn't seem at all tired yet. And Asch, Tear, Selenia and I had been fighting her for a while now, with Myre fighting her before us.

I nodded. "Doesn't surprise me." *There's a reason why the Nebillim fight is the toughest in the game... and also usually optional.*

*What I wouldn't give for _this_ to optional right now...* Asch replied. I snickered. Yeah, had to give him that one. This fight was getting very boring, very quickly, because we all had to simply _outlast_ the damn replica.

Selenia was getting hit the worst, not quite able to escape the short-range attacks Nebillim would throw out, but with Asch and Tear both focused fully on healing, she was at least staying on her feet and keeping the replica distracted, mostly.

I would set two or three anchors before hitting them up again, firing arrows in between each anchor and using any second-fonon FoFs for a Guardian's Pain, since my miasma attacks, while deadly against the pure fonon monsters, were still very dangerous even against other enemies. Miasma was deadly poison, after all, and if I could hit the replica with enough of it, it would be a good way to actually kill her faster. That was the theory, at least.

Selenia's Gray Larkspur didn't seem to be having much effect, and neither did my miasma, unfortunately. So this meant she probably couldn't be killed by the poisons we had at our disposal.

Jade and Reighn kept alternating between Ground Dasher and Absolute, in Jade's case, and Crackle and Sandstorm, in Reighn's. Either way, it left us with plenty of water and earth FoFs to use, and Selenia didn't mind me using as many as I could for both Guardian's Pain and ZelDelQues.

We finally got the Nebillim replica to stagger when the light lit up in the corner of the cavern, and Myre returned. I rolled my eyes. Of course. Let's throw her back into this.

"I see you're not having much more luck than I was having."

I rolled my eyes and used another Guardian's Pain.

This one straight up and without a Field of Fonons.

The Nebillim replica screeched in pain this time, and I blinked, then jumped back a ways and pulled on the miasma inside me. Well, if _that_ was how she wanted to play...

"Dark reckoning! Guardian's Pain!"

Again, it did more damage than it had been doing, and I huffed. "I think we're handling it better," I called. "At least this way..." I jumped out of the way of an attack. "We've got a couple of healers."

Myre didn't reply.

Just unleashed a Spread.

This, too, made Nebillim growl.

I noted that it had been made with the not-fonons as well. Damn, what the hell was Myre getting that stuff from, and why wouldn't she cooperate and tell us how to use it, too?!

I decided that that was not the train of thought I needed to be on and kept attacking the Nebillim replica with miasma-powered strike artes, including a miasma-colored ZelDelQues.

 _That_ one definitely brought her attention around to me for a moment before she unleashed a shockwave.

*...Son of a bitch.*

*You sound far too calm to be cursing like that...* Selenia noted.

*No, that would be the curse of a woman who knows _exactly_ what's coming next, knows it's inevitable, and isn't going to bother trying to stop it from happening,* Myre corrected her. I noted the irony of that particular sequence in the moment between it being said and Myre continuing. *So do you mind sharing with the rest of us?*

*Mystic Arte. Probably full-field.*

Just in time for Nebillim to, predictably, turn the entire area into a field of stars.

*Yup. Big Bang,* I finished.

*Should I be concerned that you knew that or worried about how many Resurrections I'm about to have to cast?* Tear asked.

*Resurrections. Definitely Resurrections,* I replied. Gods only knew how many times Tear had to use that arte when I was fighting Nebillim in the game.

The moment the arte hit, I knew. I'd been hit by Aerith's Big Bang before, but this...

This was at least ten times more powerful.

I don't even remember hitting the ground. Just the warmth and then realizing the need to get up.

Which I did before glancing around.

Asch, Jade, Selenia, and Tear were down.

And Reighn was running like hell to escape Nebillim.

Myre was obviously in no shape to be trying to distract her, so that would explain why Reighn had revived me, first.

I dropped my bow where I'd fallen, set an anchor, and then ran in, Silver Clematis coming to my hand with ease. I needed to do something about Nebillim, and I couldn't with my bow. Not short-range.

A quick Raging Blast was enough to get her attention, while Reighn ran away, ending up back over by my anchor... and apparently realizing how I'd been insta-casting through the battle so far.

*Think you can make the next one a seventh fonon one?* he asked.

I winced. *I can try, but note how much miasma I'm tossing around. Miasma and seventh fonons go about as well together as oil and fire.*

*Noted. Try anyway, please.*

I used a Guardian's Pain to successfully knock Nebillim away from me and noted that Reighn had managed to use Resurrection to bring Tear back next. I ran over, used up my anchor to cast an Infernal Prison, and deposited another with a moment's work, since I couldn't just draw in seven fonons and needed to use Energies to move them.

Interestingly enough, it worked, and I ran over to another spot and dropped another one.

*That's two seventh fonon anchors now,* I said. *Give them about ten more seconds to charge.*

*Thanks,* Reighn replied, ducking under a sword swipe as I ran in and let off a DelQues.

Myre scowled. "Fireball!"

I frowned. Spread. Fireball. And she'd used Grave, earlier...

As if I needed more proof. However...

*She's weaker to first and sixth fonon artes, so if you've got anything in your repertoire that'll fit _that_ description, that would be helpful,* I said, directing this at Myre.

She gave me a look, and the stubborn glare I sent back had her eyes widening slightly.

Then she glared right back, took a half a step back, and started gathering fonons.

Notably first fonons, rather than the sixth fonons that most certainly would have given her away.

"Resurrection!"

I glanced around, noting that that was now everyone but Selenia back on their feet. Tear was looking like she was considering grabbing a Pineapple Gel, so rather than letting her waste anymore time just standing around contemplating it, I dug one out and tossed it to her. *Use a Revitalize as soon as Reighn's got Selenia up. This is the one and only time I want everyone bunched together on one side of the battlefield,* I said.

*Noted,* Myre said curtly, since she and Reighn were on one side of the battlefield and the rest of us were on the other side.

It didn't take Reighn long to finish casting, nor did Myre waste any more time in letting loose her Dark Force.

I ran in and Raging Blasted Nebillim back away from us before retreating back to the area of effect that Tear created with her Revitalize.

Normally, I avoided seventh fonons. They didn't heal me nearly as much as gels did.

At that point, I made a mental note to never get into the middle of a seventh-fonon arte ever again, save for possibly Resurrection.

Because _dammit_ that hurt.

It healed everything, but it aggravated all of the miasma within my body, and that wasn't at all comfortable.

Asch seemed to notice that I was in pain, but the fact that I immediately ran at Nebillim again must have calmed him down... mostly.

I was finally starting to get frustrated with her when she sent me flying again, and I landed against Myre just as she was gathering up more of her whatever the heck she was using to cast artes.

That was when I felt it, the subtle differences between what she was using and the fonons.

She was _mutating_ the fonons, just as they'd been mutated from Energies.

I blinked at her for a moment, then glanced at Nebillim and frowned.

"Use an Angel Feathers."

"No."

I glared at her. "Do it. I think we can end this." Because between the mutated fonons, and the miasma... Yes, we could do enough damage to stop Nebillim.

"Have _Selenia_ do it!"

"She can't use the mutated fonons," I pointed out before racing over to where I'd dropped my bow earlier. Myre scowled, looking very much irritated, but started collecting sixth fonons up to herself anyway.

To my surprise, the wings that sprouted were an almost ice-white blue, so very much sharper than Selenia's.

...Time had changed that woman far too much.

I started casting as well, and Myre and I finished in the same moment. "O holy wings—what the?!"

I grinned. "Had a feeling... Darkened star..."

Myre seemed to realize what had just happened and unleashed her Angel Feathers the same moment I fired the focal arrow.

"Night Light!"

Nebillim fell after our arte hit her. "No... No!"

She turned slightly, obviously intending to go over to the fonic glyph with the Devils' Arms sticking out of it...

But never made it that far before her body simply fell apart.

Myre blinked at the spot where she had been for a long moment before her eyes hardened and she started walking across the floor, paying no attention to the glyph. I followed her, Silver Clematis back on my arm and my bow slung around my torso.

The others followed me, Selenia especially looking confused and... worried.

Myre walked into the space where Nebillim normally comes out of, and once past it, I realized that it was a massive doorway...

Behind it was a brilliant crimson monolith of a color that tried to outdo even Luke, Asch, and Lorelei's hair. I looked up at it and took a deep breath.

Another monolith. A _whole_ monolith.

I was right in front of it not a moment later, and Myre had grabbed my shoulder.

I glanced back, seeing the most expression on her face that I'd _ever_ seen.

Panic. Myre was about to start panicking.

I shook my head. "It's alright. A moment won't kill me, or the rest of us..." And I wanted to see if...

Before I could place my hand against the monolith, there was a sudden swell in the number of second fonons in the area, and I swung around, Silver Clematis in my hand.

Between me and Myre and the rest of the group, there stood a man who reminded me vaguely of Hugo Weaving in his ensemble as Johann Schmidt in Captain America... Albeit with lighter brown hair.

The sheer level of second fonons told me more than enough, however.

"Gnome."

He looked about ready to snarl at me.

"The Othervorlder who set me free."

I hummed. "So I am."

"You made it back before Rem could erect her barrier..." He paused and re-composed himself. "Perhaps it should be fitting, then... that you and the meddler vill die by my puppet's hands!"

He vanished, leaving behind an all-too-familiar face.

Selenia cried out wordlessly, and Myre grimaced.

Sync.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Yes, Gnome's human appearance is modeled heavily after Hugo Weaving. Because for some reason, every time I tried imagining Gnome as a human, I saw Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull. –is shot for watching far too many Marvel movies-_


	34. Chapter 5-3 Part 34

_So, I should have started posting this stuff ages ago. (Whoops.) This chapter was where the discrepancies were. (It was a bit messy.) Anyway, you guys are due to be getting up to Part 49 by New Years' Eve, which, coincidentally... is the last fully-written chapter I have. (-is shot for not writing at all since November-) On the other hand, I've been collecting up plot bunnies for this story like my room collects dust bunnies. (Gods, the bunnies that haunt my life...) So hopefully there won't be_ too _much of a delay on updates. (Yay!)  
_

 _Now then... Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Note to self: should probably not go out of my way to enrage already-angry sentiences. –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.3 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 34**

For a moment, I couldn't do anything. I just stood there, staring at Sync...

And then he charged at me, and I snapped out of it, ducking around a Black Rose dagger and rolling well out of the way. Slipping half onto the second plane was easy, and I looked over at Sync. I needed to know...

I wasn't sure whether to curse or be relieved.

I _could_ pull Sync's soul loose and drag him into my Energy Core. I _could_ put him into a new body.

Unfortunately, I'd have to pin him down long enough to actually extract him from the damn second fonons to do that, which would mean I'd need at _least_ two minutes, and I highly doubted Gnome would give me that time, because I could feel it in the second fonons hovering around the area. He was still here, he was watching, and he wasn't going to stop watching until we were dead or Sync was losing.

While this only served to piss me off more, it became excellent motivation to keep moving, not letting Sync hit us. Because I wanted to prove that I wasn't going to balk here. I wouldn't kill Sync, but there was nothing that could be done if he was unconscious. The way the second fonons were simply suggesting movements told me that...

That was when I noticed it. The way the Energies around Sync's mind were spinning, writhing, obviously trying to escape their containment.

Sync was fully conscious.

I wondered if it would be possible for me to...

No. Gnome's fonons blocked any chance I had at actually reaching Sync's mind. Damn, damn, damn. That meant he couldn't even escape to his mindscape, or anywhere on the third plane.

I scowled, mind already whirling. Had to come up with something that Sync would understand, but Gnome wouldn't...

Easier said than done when I had to keep avoiding his damn knives...

Wait. That's it.

I felt around inside of me, looking for that faint connection to the Sword Dancer. I couldn't summon him yet, hadn't learned that, but if there was any way he could possibly take back the Black Rose daggers until we'd gotten Sync back out from under Gnome's control...

I felt amusement and determination come back along that weak bond, and suddenly the Black Rose daggers Sync held were simply... gone.

Which had the possessed Sync pausing and staring for a second. I noted the Energies trapped within his head doing the equivalent of a happy dance, before the fonons retaliated. I snickered.

"Well now. Not _fully_ in control, are you, Gnome?" I said. Because that had definitely been Sync cheering from where he'd been trapped in his own head.

Gnome growled, and the next thing I knew, Myre and I faced not one, but two opponents.

Wait, where was... oh.

There was a barrier up around us, keeping Jade, Asch, Tear, and Selenia out, and from the frustrated look on Asch's face, a hyperresonance hadn't worked.

I couldn't feel anything outside the barrier, either, and it looked like it was made of...

"So. You dragged Rem all the way up here too."

Human-Gnome created a spear—ironically, the same spear that's called Gnome that you can get from the Keterburg casino in the game—and then ran at me, apparently sending Sync to deal with Myre.

Myre, who looked very, _very_ conflicted.

I lashed out at Gnome, unleashing far more miasma in a single Raging Blast than I had done yet, and noted his hiss. I smirked. "Oh? Did that hurt?"

Note to self: should probably not go out of my way to enrage already-angry sentiences.

Because the next attack really, _really_ hurt.

I forced myself to my feet and did my best to ignore what I thought might have been a couple of broken ribs. Apparently I needed to end this quickly...

I turned and unleashed a Guardian's Pain right next to the barrier, and heard a feminine screech before the whole thing shattered.

Before any of the four on the outside could help, Gnome literally threw Myre at us, and I don't think her hitting _me_ helped my ribs at all, because I found myself coughing up blood when I landed.

"You vill all _perish!_ " Gnome yelled, suddenly taking on a much larger form... This one of a badger.

Heh. Always knew badgers were nasty little buggards.

Aw, crap.

Gnome slammed his enlarged spear into Myno's monolith, even as I saw the golden-brown glow envelop Sync.

Another golden glow wrapped around me, and then the world faded out momentarily. Once I could see, I realized that we were at Eldrant, with Lorelei knelt next to us.

He immediately turned to Asch. "You should focus on healing her. I will take the others back once Shadow gives the all clear that Undine is gone," he said. Asch nodded, then looked over at me.

"How bad?"

I promptly started coughing, more blood splattering on the ground. "Ugh... Does that answer your question?"

Judging from the fact that Asch had just pulled himself straight out of his body, I'd say yes.

Broken bones, if healed properly within a short enough amount of time after being broken, would never even realize they'd been broken. Which was what Asch was trying to do as I rolled slightly to lay on my back.

"Part of that's my fault, isn't it?" Myre asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No. I blame Gnome. Completely. And maybe myself a bit... Really shouldn't have pissed him off."

"What did you _say_? None of us could hear anything inside that barrier," Jade said.

I hummed. "I might have taunted him a bit after hitting him with a really miasma-backed Raging Blast. He didn't take it too nicely."

Selenia outright facepalmed. "I can't believe some of the shit you do."

Myre looked ever so slightly amused. "I'd _forgotten_ how crazy you are. Maybe Lorelei was right..." She walked off and disappeared in an Energy Circle before anyone could say anything.

Still.

I smiled slightly. "Well, at least I know one thing."

"What?" Lorelei asked, looking baffled. I turned my smile on him.

"Your future self must have had some sort of faith in me for Myre to make that particular comment."

The eyerolls that followed that statement had me rolling my own eyes. "What?"

Selenia shook her head. "Chaos. Complete and utter chaos."

"Oi, ain't that s'posed ta be mah bit?"

Jade, Selenia, and Tear whirled around, already with weapons in hand, and Ifrit kinda bounced backwards a bit before holding his hands up. "Easy... Ah ain't here ta hurt no one."

I rolled my eyes and made good use of my habit of slipping into a southern drawl. "Ya also ain't capable o' speakin' proper English, now are ya, darlin'?"

Ifrit gave me a sour look. "This, from the gal that jus' made herself sound like Undine."

...What?

I groaned. "Great. You're from Brooklyn, Gnome's German, Shadow's a Brit, Sylph's Australian, and now Undine's a southerner. Damn, damn, damn. I am _so_ going to hate my accent by the time this is over."

Which had everybody staring at me.

"I'm going to guess this has something to do with your homeworld and I don't _want_ to know the details," Tear said. I shrugged.

"Actually, it's not that bad. Different regions tend to speak different languages, and if you learn to speak a common language with someone from another region, it shows in your accent," I said. "Heck, even in the US, there's a _lot_ of different accents. Ifrit's would have most people assuming he's from Brooklyn, or at least the New York City area. The accent I just let out is one I have to consciously suppress sometimes. Most people listen to me talk like that, they assume I'm from Alabama, Mississippi... the southern states all have that kind of a drawl, though it varies a bit from state to state. Ow!"

I hissed as Asch pulled one of my ribs back into alignment. It also happened to be the one that had punctured my lung.

I waited a moment for the pain to go away before I took a breath and continued. "Anyway, with Gnome's accent, most people would assume that he's German."

It was a moment before Jade hummed. "You know, now that you mention it, if you get to talking to a crowd or even to us for any amount of time, you do start to pick up that accent..."

I hummed. "Yup. Southern drawl. Tends to happen when you spend quite a bit of time in Alabama with your relatives who are smart enough to avoid Illinois. Gods how I hate Illinois."

Asch chuckled as he returned to his body. "Yeah, what was it you said to Sync once about the weather in your home state?"

I rolled my eyes. "As I like to joke, Illinois is the Land of—I do not recall _that_ being in the forecast." I paused and finally managed to sit up. "If we had a good week, it would be consistently around sixty-five degrees, sunny, and light wind for two or three days. The rest of the week it would either be blowing like hell, really friggin' hot, or snowing. And I don't really jest on the snow thing. I swear there was one week where we had three inches of snow on Sunday, a lovely seventy degree sunny day on Wednesday, and then it was friggin' _snowing_ again by Friday... Remday, Undineday, and Loreleiday," I added, seeing the confused looks at the days.

Which had most of them snickering now. Good.

Lorelei just sighed. "It's safe now. Undine and Gnome apparently had to have a nice long argument on top of everything else."

"What'd ya expect from those two?" Ifrit asked. "The only thing they hate mor'n each otha would be the humans."

I glanced at Ifrit again, and smiled. "I'm glad to see you're okay, by the way."

He jumped a bit and looked over at me, then offered a tentative smile back. "Thanks..."

I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling around my body. Asch had done an excellent job, but trying to do anything strenuous with my lung in the condition it was in was a bad idea.

"Jade, Reighn, you two go with Lorelei. See if you can talk to Myno and get another monolith piece," I ordered. Then I paused. "Though, did you guys ever figure out where the source of the taint was?"

Reighn winced. "Dark should still be just outside... Right at the top of the steps leading up to the temple, where Luke said he fought your replica... Dark said it was deep under there."

I frowned and started to stand, carefully. Asch held my arm as I started getting to my feet. "I'm going to go check it out, though I don't think I'm going to be able to do anything about it right now," I said. "You three do that... the rest of us will figure out other things to work on. For me, right now, that's going to be healing. Why does this shit always happen to me...?"

Asch snorted. "You brought it on yourself this time."

I tried to come up with an argument, but he brought up a good point. This time, the blame lay squarely on my own shoulders.

Selenia and Tear followed us, and I noted Selenia glancing at me, then at the ground, and then at me again.

I'd have to find a way to...

Oh for Christ sake.

*Hey, sweetheart. What's wrong?*

Selenia's head shot up, then she looked at the ground again. *I... it's nothing.*

I shook my head. *I don't believe that in the least.*

Selenia glanced up at me, then away, and then sighed. *Sync... He... he looked so bloodthirsty trying to kill you two...*

*He can get past Gnome's control, Selly.*

*I know. But it still makes me feel bad...*

I smiled. *You know... I was watching the Energies that were Sync when I told Kade to take the Black Rose daggers back... He started celebrating when they vanished.*

It started small, but then Selenia let it loose. One giggle, then another, and then she was outright laughing.

"Good joke?" Asch asked.

I smiled. "Good enough for now. Knowing Sync, it'll get better."

"Oh, _gods_."

Which had me joining Selenia... for a few seconds, anyway. Then I got to the point where I simply couldn't laugh, because it hurt too much to do so. Which sucked, but then, as Asch had pointed out, I'd brought this one on myself.

We reached the area where Reighn had said Dark would be, only to find that no one was there.

"Well. That helps lots," Selenia grumbled. I hummed, sat down, and simply _felt_ , with both my Energies and the odd sixth sense I'd picked up for the miasma.

Reighn was right. They _had_ found the source of the taint. And it was hitting most of the gods-damned island now.

I growled a few curses and then stood up, again with Asch's help. "They found the source, alright. That's going to take me hours to even _start_ cleansing it, forget about getting rid of it completely..."

"You know you don't have to deal with it alone," Asch pointed out. I sighed.

"Asch... You, Sync, and Jade are the only three with the sort of control that's needed to really be of any help, and you'll all exhaust yourselves trying to reach it... I know I can go that far if I go slow and careful, but like I said, I'll be there for hours..." I stopped and hummed. "Might be able to at least get rid of the... Wait a sec."

I stopped, looked back at the top of the steps, and then glanced at my bag.

The Midlight crystal we'd picked up at the Absorption Gate, the one made almost purely of moon Energies... If I could engrave it with the correct set of runes, and then find a way to get it down to where the taint was...

That would deal with the negative Energies.

And I could probably simply _pull_ the miasma to me. Like attracts like, after all...

I nodded. I'd have to see about doing something like that.

"Okay, Auldrant to Kairi."

I giggled. "Sorry. Just had a thought that might work... Gonna have to see how far down that taint goes and if there might be any tunnels in the area, though," I said.

Asch sighed. "Here we go, yet _again_."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So, yeah. That rant about Illinois weather was, sadly, VERY accurate. As some friends and I were joking: "Spring? Fall? What are these things you talk about? We have no 'spring' or 'fall' here. We have 'summer', 'winter', and days where the weather decides to give us the other season instead of what we're supposed to have._


	35. Chapter 5-4 Part 35

_Remember to go back and read 5-3 if you haven't already!_

 _So, more hints in regards to the Time Chasers... Who are unimportant anyway. –shrugs- Well, Nanalie shows up again later, but... The Time Chasers in general are unimportant.  
_

 _Oh, and Undine randomly decided to channel Elsa in this chapter. (Thankfully, this puts her out of commission for a while.)_

* * *

" _Kairi... Do you have a death wish?" Dark_

 _*I'm cold, but not frozen... yet. Undine keeps dropping the temperature and that won't be a problem.* -Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.4 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 35**

I was sitting in a pleasantly shaded clearing when Dark finally showed up again the next morning.

"Hey."

"Hey. Noticed you were out in the fortress."

Dark chuckled. "Yeah. Me, Sorylle, and Eraia were doing a pretty good job of taking out most of the monsters... Well, in that section, at least. Damn is that fortress huge."

"Of course," I replied. "Anyway, did you need something?"

Dark sat in front of me and started tapping his leg. "Eraia said that she can't come onto the first plane because I don't have any sort of a focal point," he said. "When I asked her about it later, she said the... Time Chasers? ...have their watches, and that serves as the focal point for their partners, like with Nanalie and Koga."

I nodded. "Yes. And no, I don't know how to find a watch... you don't want one, anyway. Trust me."

"She said a bound Midlight crystal would be an alternative."

I paused, frowned, and then opened my eyes to look at him. Dark was totally serious, and from the looks of the Clockwork Creature right next to him, so was Eraia.

I looked up to the sky and considered it, then looked at Eraia and motioned for her to step closer. Which she did.

It only took me another moment to realize that she was right. A Midlight crystal would work as a perfect focal point.

I nodded. "Alright. I'll go find Asch. We found a bunch of Midlight crystals while at the Gates. Rem was using them to anchor her barrier, the one that would have kept me from reaching Auldrant had I not been brought back early. I'll see if one of them is compatible."

Dark nodded. "Thanks, Kairi."

I sighed. "Don't thank me yet. You still have to bind to the crystal and then figure out how to summon Eraia from there. Which, by the way, is something I have no clue how to do."

Dark smirked. "Well, I'm up for a new challenge. Could always use something to keep me occupied."

I snorted and stood up. "Yeah, that sounds like you."

I started walking, Dark right on my heels. He sighed. "So... about that tainted spot..."

"Reighn said you were the one who found it."

"Yeah... Any ideas on how to deal with it, since it's underground?"

I shrugged. "One really good idea and one not-so-good idea. But I need to talk to Guy before we can really get into the rest of that. Anyway, I take it the other two teams are still doing their parts?"

"Yeah. From what Luke and Lorelei have been able to figure out, the evacuation order's been given. A few groups have already come up, but until the individual city officials approve the order, we're still stuck working around things. Natalia's made it everywhere to talk to all of the leaders, though," Dark said. "And Glen McGovern's already signed off on it in St. Binah. As did Rose in Engeve."

"Sheridan, Belkend, and Baticul?" I asked.

"Sheridan doesn't really have a proper governor or anything. They've been arguing whether or not Class M signing off on the order makes it actually legal or not," Dark said. "But Baticul and Belkend are cleared. Belkend especially, since the order's got both Viridian and Duke Fabre's signatures on it."

I nodded. "I'm guessing Natalia's retreated to Baticul now."

"Yeah. And I'm kinda planning on going after her soon, once I can get the all-clear." He gave me a pointed look, and I sighed.

"Who put me in charge of this shit?"

Dark snorted. "You did, when you sent Cantabile back to Daath. Order of Lorelei trumps both Kimlasca and Malkuth, and you outrank everyone except Asch, who's not readily available as he's busy clearing up a spring with Luke."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright. You, me, we can pull Asch away... Anyone else that's still hanging around that's Kimlascan, discounting Luke as I have every intention of leaving him right here?"

Dark hummed. "Nope. Reighn's either from Daath or Malkuth, depending on how picky you want to get, Selenia and Jade are definitely Malkuthian, and Tear is from Yulia City, which is technically part of Daath."

I nodded. "We'll take Jade or Reighn, then."

"Take me for what?"

I glanced up at Reighn. "We're sending another group to Baticul. Myself, Dark, Asch, and either you or Jade, since you're both capable as doubling as fonist and healer."

Reighn hummed. "Might as well take me. Jade's found something in the stuff Ryndor brought from the Archives and doesn't look like he's planning to go anywhere any time soon."

I smirked. "Yeah, sounds like him. So I'll contact Asch. You two go get your stuff... Dark, about that crystal, I'll see what we've got in Asch's bag. Hopefully something will be compatible... Not like we don't have five to choose from."

Dark snorted. "Sounds like you guys had fun."

I groaned. "Fun is not what I'd call it..."

I spread a field and started reaching, even as Dark and Reighn wandered off back toward the quarters we'd claimed for our group. I had all of my stuff in my wing pack, which was, as usual, being carried on my person. If it wasn't, I must have been captured by someone.

Usually Zion, in the past. Which was beyond irritating.

I found Asch finally, and tapped him.

A moment later, he responded. *Yes?*

*Leave the spring be. I can draw the miasma out more easily later,* I said. *For now, Dark wants to go check on Natalia in Baticul. She's finished the main part of her mission, which means the citizens should be preparing for the evacuation now.*

Asch hummed. *Right. Coming.*

*You sure you don't want me to come instead?* Luke asked.

*You might as well stay here and keep doing what you've been doing,* I said. *Asch can't do the transporting people thing you can.*

*Noted.*

I closed the connection and started walking. Asch would probably follow the center of my field around—he'd gotten pretty good at that—and I knew Reighn and Dark would head for the center of the 'city', since that was where we usually left and entered from when travelling by hyperresonance...

I was the first one there, of course, though it didn't take Asch very long to get caught up. The two of us then waited a moment for Reighn, Dark, and Sorylle.

Once they'd arrived, Asch took the four of us to Baticul, landing in the courtyard at Fabre Manor.

"...Asch?"

He turned and smiled at Suzanne. "Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where Natalia is, would you, mother?"

Suzanne shook her head. "No. But she should be down in the city, gathering the women and children."

I noted that Suzanne didn't look like she was planning on going anywhere, and then pointed it out.

She shook her head. "I'm not. Baticul is my home... and there are plenty of other women who should take priority over me."

Asch grimaced, but nodded. "I can respect that, at least."

"We should... Ahah. Looks like Dark's already gone," Reighn said.

I smirked. "Of course. Natalia's not _here_. But you're right, we should follow him." I started heading that direction myself, Reighn and Asch following me without a word.

Getting onto the lift that took us straight to the main level, I glanced at Asch. He looked torn, still, and I reached out and put a hand on his arm. "She's made her decision, Asch. And if you think your stubborn streak came from your father, you're wrong. I've seen that look in her eyes before... in _yours_."

Asch looked over at me and offered up a small smile. "Thanks."

I nodded. "We have a job to do... And with any luck, we can do it before Undine and Gnome manage to destroy _everything_."

We reached the bottom level and stepped off the lift... just in time for the earthquake to start.

People started screaming, and I noted a flash of light.

Myre.

*So, any helpful suggestions?* I asked.

*If you love Asch, keep him away from the damn lifts... actually, that goes for everyone.*

...The lifts?

I glanced at them. The cables... the generators... The generators! Which, from the steam, focused primarily on _fourth_ fonons!

Undine was free now.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

"Kairi, I _really_ hate it when you do that!" Asch called after me.

"Get these people away from the lifts! Asch, jump up to the higher levels, _use your hyperresonance, dammit_ , get everyone away from the lifts!" I yelled back, already ordering the Kimlascan soldiers to do the same.

Except half the soldiers wanted nothing to do with me...

Fine.

I prodded that weak link with the Sword Dancer as I found myself shoved aside into another alley. *What did you do with my Oracle Knights uniform?*

An odd feeling overcame me, and then a small cloud of miasma surrounded me. A moment later, it left to reveal me back in my uniform. *Thank you.*

While I loved the outfit Peony had given me, getting the Kimlascan soldiers to cooperate was much easier when in uniform.

Dark and Natalia had apparently realized what I was doing, and had echoed my order. Asch must've taken Reighn with him, because I couldn't see blue hair anywhere in the crowd...

That was when every single generator at every single lift suddenly _exploded_.

Screams rang out, but I was far more preoccupied in searching for Asch...

Who I could touch, but not connect to. And I was right, Reighn was with him. *Reighn! Asch—*

*He's alive! Pretty badly wounded, but alive! Damn it, what the hell just happened?!*

I glared up at the sky in time for an honestly beautiful woman to appear.

Beautiful, but a total bitch. And I was _not_ pleased with her.

"Undine!"

She glanced down, spotted me, and scowled. "Otherworlder... You dare interfere?!"

I scowled right back. "Seems to be a hobby of mine, doesn't it?"

She pointed her hand at me, and if it weren't for my timing Talent screaming at me, I never would have moved in time to avoid the Absolute she conjured right on top of me.

Note to self: _Really_ need to stop pissing sentiences off even more than they already are.

"Kairi... Do you have a death wish?" Dark asked blandly.

I giggled back. "Starting to look that way, isn't it?"

"You're fucking nuts."

"Tell me something I haven't already figured out," I replied, jumping from the second level and managing to land a DelQues on a very startled Undine.

Hm. Don't think she expected that.

The woman screamed in frustration, and I heard it before I saw it.

"Tidal wave!" someone yelled.

I glanced out to sea, and sure enough, incoming tidal wave. That was just excellent...

I froze suddenly.

Baticul was in a crater. If that water came over the docks and the sea wall...

Of course. Lorelei's vision.

And here I was, stuck in the middle of the city, and there was nothing I could do.

A wall of fire suddenly rose up on the docks, and while I pitied any poor soul who'd been caught in it, I smirked.

It didn't stop the wave completely, but the sheer power Ifrit put into it vaporized the leading edge of the tsunami and took away a _lot_ of its strength... enough that the sea wall held against it.

"IFRIT!"

I glanced up, let Silver Clematis return to my arm, and pulled my bow out again. Since Undine didn't want to come down...

"Demonic Star!"

I'd just have to use a long-range weapon.

She screeched again, still more in frustration than anything else, and the next water arte I got to dodge was a Final Embrace.

She really seems to favor the 'forbidden' artes, doesn't she?

Undine seemed to realize that her plans for Baticul were being thwarted. Because the next thing she did was even more surprising.

She crossed her arms in front of her and seemed to curl into herself for a moment, much like Tear did when she was casting one of the fonic hymns... and then I heard it. The hymn Undine was singing... except this one brought chills to my very soul, because it vaguely reminded me of something else I'd heard before.

The storm clouds that gathered next had me worried...

And then Undine uncurled, and the _ice_ unleashed itself on the city... starting with the area directly below her. Which happened to be about where Reighn and Asch were.

I heard Reighn cry out, even as I raced into that area, crossing the invisible line between the winter Undine had summoned and the summer it should have been with barely a thought.

Because despite the cold, that was my best friend and my _boyfriend_!

I raced up the main staircase, then found the stairs hidden behind the lifts and darted up those. I finally made it over to them to find Reighn passed out over Asch. A quick glance at their Energy Cores brought me relief for Asch, who was as normal as he could be when he was wounded, and near-panic for Reighn, whose Energy Core was horribly imbalanced...

Energy Core, fonslots...

Undine had practically frozen him just now.

So I held my half-frozen friend close and felt around. *Who's _not_ frozen?*

*I'm cold, but not frozen... yet. Undine keeps dropping the temperature and that won't be a problem,* Dark commented.

I looked around. Asch was down, so we had no way to contact Luke or Lorelei.

*Natalia, Flick, Guy, Seth?*

*Cold, but alive. More than I can say for the little girl I just found. Undine's initial blast hit her right on... She's dead,* Seth replied.

*Reighn's still alive, barely. His water affinity is what saved him from the same fate, and he was bent over Asch when it happened,* I replied. *Natalia, Flick, Guy?*

*Flick's about to freeze her ass off, but we're both okay,* Guy said. *Trapped on the third level though. The lift generators exploding did enough structural damage to the staircase down that we can't go that way.*

I cursed and glanced up, making sure that Undine had gone. It looked like unleashing this frigid winter condition on Baticul took its toll on her, and while there were still plenty of fourth fonons floating around... well. There weren't enough for her to form up again.

So I kept Reighn held tight between myself and Asch in an attempt at bringing his body temperature back up enough to be non-fatal.

*We have to find some way to contact the guys back at Eldrant. Asch got pretty hurt by those generators.*

*What about the Albiore II?* Natalia asked. *Or did Undine drop the temperature fast enough that the engines froze over again?*

I wasn't sure. *I'll have to disconnect most of you to reach Noelle, assuming she's still on the Albiore.*

Because if she hadn't been... then it was very likely she was trapped in Baticul along with us.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So. In case you can't tell... This is where Asch died in Myre's timeline. He was standing too close to a generator when Undine showed up. Obviously that tidal wave would have hit as well, because as we saw in the first chapter, Ifrit had supposedly sided with Gnome, Undine, and Rem. So..._

 _Myre's managed to do the same thing Kairi did. She screwed up the timeline enough for Asch to walk away with his life._

 _His sanity, on the other hand, is still dangling precariously... (Then again, whose_ isn't _, with menaces like Jade, Kairi, and Cantabile around?)_


	36. Chapter 5-5 Part 36

_Another one... Warning for quite a few drops of the 'f' word. (Given the situation, I'm sure you can understand_ why _.)_

* * *

" _...I take it back. I don't think 'oh, hell' is strong enough for this._ Fuck _." -Luke_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.5 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 36**

*I'll have to disconnect most of you to reach Noelle, assuming she's still on the Albiore,* I said.

*She should be. We t-told her not to leave so she'd be ready to g-go as soon as we had the first group of refugees read-dy.*

*Flick, find a blanket or something,* I ordered the purple-haired girl blandly.

*See if you can't vault down some of the railings, Flick. My cloak's pretty warm—should hold you over for now if you can get to the second level.* Seth said.

There was a moment of silence, and then Seth walked up to me, cloak draped over one arm. It didn't take long for Flick, ever the acrobat, to jump down from her most recent perch. And really, it was no damn wonder she was freezing. She'd taken quite the liking to her Fire Lady costume, and while it was fiery in color, it was _not_ warm.

Seth wrapped his cloak around her shoulders and she pulled it close, then basically tucked herself into his side, burying her nose in his neck. From the slight shiver, her _everything_ was frozen.

Seth looked over and saw what I was doing with Reighn and Asch, and nudged Flick over to join us... Just as it started snowing.

I glanced up at the clouds, seeing how dark they'd become, and felt like crying. Because if Undine couldn't bury Baticul in a tidal wave, she'd bury it in snow. And that wasn't really all that helpful when she'd destroyed every piece of fontech that was using primarily fourth fonons... which was about two thirds of the fontech in Baticul.

I reached away from most of the group and finally found Noelle. *Noelle?*

*Kairi! Oh, I've never been so glad to hear your voice in my head! Are you in Baticul?!*

*Yeah. How bad's it look from out there?*

*...You're assuming I can see anything through this blizzard.*

*...Fuck. You can't fly in this, can you?*

*Nope.*

*...Triple fuck.*

Seth chuckled as Flick sat down and snuggled into the little huddle we had going, Seth joining in as well. Reighn was now surrounded on all sides, and to my relief, was finally starting to warm up. Also, having Seth and Flick both helping to support him and Asch was a _big_ help.

*Can't fly out of it either, probably, if you can't see where you're going...*

*Well... I could probably get it up in the air and then set it on autopilot to get me out, so long as I didn't try to set it for Sheridan, but...*

*Then get back to Eldrant and tell Luke to contact Lorelei and get their asses down here!* I ordered.

*Yes, ma'am!* Noelle replied instantly.

A minute passed, then two...

Then Noelle moved far enough away that I was forced to break the connection or have it rebounding on me.

I reconnected everyone in Baticul. *Reighn's finally starting to warm up... We have to find temporary shelter for right now. The Albiores can't get in here, so we have to wait for Luke and Lorelei. I sent Noelle back to Eldrant to get them.*

*Then we should probably do something about the people we'd intended to evacuate.*

*Yes.*

*Uh... Natalia... We may have a problem.*

*Dark, bringing up problems in that tone of voice is _my_ job,* I pointed out.

*Yeah, well, Sorylle and I managed to get up to the top level to check on King Ingobert and the rest of the nobles... Duke Fabre's alright, but Suzanne was sitting on the other side of a wall from a boiler when Undine unleashed that shockwave... and so was King Ingobert.*

...Oh no.

I bowed my head. King Ingobert was dead. This meant that Natalia, his daughter, was now needed as the leader of Kimlasca.

I glanced around, and then realized something.

*Anyone seen Myre since the generators blew?* I asked.

*Hadn't even realized she was here,* Dark said.

*She's the one that warned me about the generators,* I admitted, feeling around for semi-familiar minds. Old Miyagi, some of the White Knights...

There!

I slipped out of the huddle around Reighn and Asch and started running, following that weak feeling toward the woman I knew was Myre. Because I knew the feel of her mind well enough, even hardened and cold as this older version was.

It didn't take me long to find Myre, half-buried under a stairwell that had collapsed when the generators had blown.

She started to stir as I dug her out, and judging from the way she was blinking at the drifting-to-the-ground snow, I'd say _this_ hadn't been on the itinerary.

"So. I'm gonna guess that tidal wave was supposed to actually _hit_ Baticul."

Myre stared up at me for a moment before shaking her head and forcing herself to her feet. "Yeah. It should have. Asch?"

"Alive. Wounded, but alive. I'm more worried about Reighn right now. Undine unleashed one _hell_ of a snowstorm and anyone that was right under her when she did so got frozen solid. Reighn's water affinity and the fact it was a glancing blow was all that spared him from an instant death."

Myre winced. "And that means Suzanne and Ingobert are dead, too... Oh, damn."

"What?"

She glanced at me. "If the tidal wave didn't hit, that means that the city didn't collapse. The majority of the Kimlascan Advisory Council should still be alive..."

"And that's a bad thing because...?"

"Natalia's adopted, Kairi. And Dark is a former assassin, and if I remember correctly, still only a Colonel. They'll either force her to marry a Kimlascan noble, or abdicate the throne. She won't be able to brush them off like she did in my timeline," Myre said.

I grimaced then. "And if I know Natalia, she'll spend enough time torn between Dark and the kingdom for them to force her hand, probably into abdicating. After all, Asch, the next in line for the throne, is still alive."

"And promised to the younger sister of a prominent member of the Malkuth military," Myre added, giving me a pointed look. I growled, and she smirked slightly. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

I smiled sadly. "Ah. So _that's_ where she disappeared to."

Myre stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. Come on. We should get the people we'd planned to evacuate out before any of the other sentiences decides to see if they can add to Undine's mess."

"So... How come the tidal wave didn't hit?" Myre asked as we walked back to the center of the city.

I winced. "Ifrit threw up a wall of fire on the docks. I'm sure anyone that was down there died, but that move took a lot of power out of the tsunami. It bought us time to get as many people out as we could, and that's all I could have asked of him."

Myre glanced over at me, then looked away. "I guess... I should be glad. You know... when Lorelei sent me back... Undine and Ifrit sent two of their puppets to fight us. We didn't have a choice. We killed Undine's... Ifrit used his to talk to us. Turned out he'd only started claiming puppets to preserve the human race. I'm glad you got him on the right side to begin with this time."

I hummed. "I think it was more than just me, Sel."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry. But I was being honest. You're doing everything you can to stop Gnome and Undine... and Dark and Sync started it, after all. They're the ones who went to Grand Chokmah." I paused. "Did Natalia suggest going to Grand Chokmah in your timeline?"

Myre sighed. "Yes. Jade brushed her off. They never made that initial split up."

"They?"

"We," Myre admitted. "I... I should apologize to her..."

"How did you lose yours?"

"Inista Marsh, Behemoth. Twelve went in... only a few came back, and by the time I left, none were still alive."

I nodded. "I think this was better."

"Better?!" Myre rounded on me, and I saw it again, that fire lighting up in blue eyes, a fire she'd been missing. "How is Sync being that jerk's puppet _better_?!"

"Because if we can pin Sync down, I can pull him free," I said. "He's _alive_. And that's enough."

Myre backed off. "I hope, for _her_ sake, you're right."

She turned and headed over to help with the evacuation, while I stood there a bit longer and shivered. It may have just been me, but the temperature seemed to be dropping further and further by the second, and that was not a nice thing for a girl who really, really hated the cold.

"Kairi?"

I glanced over my shoulder.

Short hair. Luke.

"Yeah?"

"Asch is gonna be alright, isn't he?"

I snorted. "For now. He'll probably be throwing a fit pretty soon, though."

"Oh?"

I shrugged. "Myre brought something to my attention, and it was a good argument. And if those assholes do try it, I may just have to do some yelling at them myself. Heavens knows Asch is going to go at it pretty hard."

Luke frowned. "Is this about King Ingobert dying?"

"Yeah. You realize... Natalia's adopted, and Dark, a _former assassin_ , is still only a Colonel."

"Oh... Oh, _hell_."

"If they don't force her into a marriage to someone she wants nothing to do with, she'll have to abdicate. Which makes _Asch_ next in line for the throne."

"...I take it back. I don't think 'oh, hell' is strong enough for this. _Fuck_."

I snorted. "Yeah. That about sums it up." I shook my head. "So. How's the evacuation going?"

"Pretty well. Everyone's startled, but the people who are staying behind are already looking for firewood and oil lamps. They've learned their lesson-keep away from the steam-powered generators and boilers."

Speaking of boilers... "Do you need a hug?"

Luke jumped a bit. "What? Do I need a—no! Why—?!"

"Susanne's gone too, Luke," I said, voice soft.

Luke paused, then swallowed. "I..."

I held my arms open, and wasn't all that surprised when he stepped into them for that hug. Because Luke may have acted like a mature almost-eighteen-year-old most of the time, and that's exactly what he was, but he was still a seven-year-old at heart, in mind. And at times... he just had to be a little kid.

So I pulled him close and didn't comment on the dampness on my shoulder. Because Luke had only ever known his parents, Guy, Pere, Natalia, and the servants for most of his life. Susanne was his _mother_ , and while her death would have _me_ in tears later once I'd come to terms with everything that had happened over the course of the day, I knew it hurt Luke far more.

I knew. I'd been there before, with my father... Except that had been different, too. Because I'd known for months that my father was dying, and Luke hadn't gotten that warning.

Still, I wasn't going to pull away from him when he needed someone, _anyone_ , the most.

He did finally pull away though, and gave me a sad but thankful look. "Thanks."

I forced a smile, then let it go. "I've been there, Luke. I've been there. I had Asch and Sync. Solace is still in Daath for now, but I'm here. So let's get Reighn and Asch back to Eldrant, see what we can do about cleaning up the mess Undine's turned Baticul into, and then deal with the old fogies who are probably going to tie Natalia's hands in a way she really isn't going to like," I suggested. Luke nodded and headed back over to help with the evacuation.

I sighed and looked up at the sky, watching the snowflakes falling. It wasn't exactly a gentle snowfall, but it wasn't an all-out blizzard, either. And that was just fine.

It could have been worse. If humanity had survived the Ice Age on Earth, the citizens staying here would survive for at least a while. And maybe we could find a way to fix this once we'd gotten the sentiences under control.

It wasn't long before Sorylle came bounding down the still-sturdy steps she could find, Dark leaned over her back and braid flying. The liger padded over to me and growled a soft inquiry.

"I'm fine," I replied softly. Sorylle growled back worriedly, but I just patted her on the head and looked up at Dark. "Better go find Natalia. She's going to need all the support she can get pretty soon," I added.

He nodded, sliding down off Sorylle's back and heading off.

I wandered around for a while, helping people to get to central areas and helping the citizens who would be staying to set up proper shelters. It was hard work, and I ended up doing a lot of the heavy lifting as more and more of the women and children left with Luke and Myre.

The last group to leave consisted of myself, Luke, Dark, Natalia, Reighn, Asch, Flick, Seth, Guy and Myre. The only reason we hadn't moved Asch and Reighn yet was because Seth had been worried what the sudden temperature difference might do to Reighn.

At that point, however, everyone was of the 'let's just get the hell out of here so we can figure this shit out' mentality.

So it really didn't surprise me when we landed on Eldrant and found ourselves a ways away from everyone else. Close enough to our group 'headquarters' that carrying Asch and Reighn wouldn't be too bad, but far enough away from everything that we wouldn't have to deal with them too much.

Shadow walked over and helped Guy with carrying Reighn. "Is he going to be alright?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Should be. He's a water affinity to start with, and it was a glancing blow. May take a while for him to come back around, though."

I left Shadow and Guy to Reighn and managed to get Asch back to his cot before running through his list of injuries. Nothing broken, but there was some serious damage to his left side, and while Reighn had started healing parts, there was one large piece of scrap metal that I knew I'd have to remove before I could really get to healing.

It'd be a while before he used that arm, and from my aching ribs, I had a feeling Asch wasn't the only one who was going to be under orders to sit and not hurt himself more than he already was hurt.

By the time I'd finished patching him up, I was exhausted.

If anyone had a problem with me bunking with Asch for the night, they were getting a DelQues to the head if they woke me trying to move me.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So... Ingobert died. This was not planned initially. And then Cantabile made up her mind about something (that notably hasn't happened yet), and... I realized a need for an intervention. So... Ingobert died. Sadly. And kickstarted a whole bunch of annoying angst that thankfully got us to where we needed to be in the end._


	37. Chapter 5-6 Part 37

_Begin ze angst! (And a few moments of hilarity to break it all up.)_

* * *

" _And thus does the world end..." –Asch_

"' _Angelic' is not a word I would use to describe myself, and what does that have to do with not pissing Cantabile off?" -Jade_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.6 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 37**

"...You're hovering."

I didn't turn around at Asch's soft voice. Didn't acknowledge him when he stepped up just behind me. Because I couldn't tear my eyes away from the still form on the bed, buried under the blankets in the already-warm room.

If it weren't for the slightest movements of the blankets, for the movement of the Energies around him, for the weak but steady glow of his soul...

I'd have thought Reighn was dead.

"Kairi?"

"I don't know why I keep wondering how we end up in these situations," I whispered, eyes not really focusing on anything anymore, just half-watching the blurry glows that indicated Energies moving around Reighn. "I think... part of me still thinks this is Tales of the Abyss... still thinks this is just a _game_..." I dared to look at Asch's solemn expression just behind me. He didn't say anything, so I shook my head, eyes drifting back to Reighn. "And then someone gets hurt, someone _dies_..." I stop again, eyes closed and head shaking back and forth. Why? Why do I always feel like such a gods-damned idiot when things like this happen...?

Asch puts his right hand on my shoulder. "We've made it this far. Don't go breaking on me now when I need you the most."

I could tell, from the waver in his voice and the grip he had on my shoulder, he wasn't just talking about his mother's death.

"So, the Council delivered their ultimatum." I took a deep breath. "How did Natalia take it?"

"Not well. And after everything she's been through...This isn't fair to her, to force her to make this choice, especially so quickly after Uncle's death," Asch murmured back.

I hummed. "And where is she now?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Dark put her up on Sorylle and Sorylle took off running."

"Dark didn't go with them?"

Asch let out a half-hearted chuckle. "You know, I've only seen him truly pissed off twice. When Danté first showed up at the Monolith of Syal, and when he sent Sorylle and Natalia off an hour ago. I'm sure by now he's finished ripping the Council a new hole and has gone after Natalia."

I hummed. "I do hope he didn't use the White Lotus chakrams to do it."

Asch's chuckle was a little more genuine this time. "It'd save us all a lot of trouble, wouldn't it?"

I elbowed him, gently so as not to aggravate his injuries. He just chuckled a bit more.

My eyes drifted over to Reighn again, and I took a deep breath. Asch noticed.

"Kairi? ...Why don't we go for a walk?"

I turned and smiled slightly, but it faded quickly, too quickly. Still, following Asch gave me something to do other than stand around and brood over Reighn.

We weren't headed anywhere in particular. Because we were both out of it, we just wandered, my left hand holding onto his right.

Which felt odd, because previously, we'd always held the other hand.

I was left-handed. Asch was right-handed. So holding his left hand in my right left our sword arms free. I wasn't sure whether to be amused or worried by the fact that we seemed to find a way to look relaxed while still being prepared to fight at a second's notice.

We ended up finding one of the temples around Eldrant. This one hadn't been repurposed as living space yet, nor was it really in disrepair. A quiet retreat...

But voices drifted out of it, and I paused, glancing inside.

Ah. So that was where Myre had disappeared to.

"It was so funny," Myre was saying, her voice soft. She was knelt in front of what looked like an altar, Selenia standing next to her and looking at something in her cupped hands. "And he told me, when he got back, we'd make it official."

Myre stopped there, and I nudged Asch, indicating that we should leave them alone. Because I'd heard that waver in Myre's voice... This wasn't our place to be intruding.

"He never made it back, did he?" Selenia asked, sounding just as upset.

"No."

We finally left hearing range, and again started wandering. This time, my eyes drifted around, looking for our friends, wondering who was where. I didn't see Dark or Natalia or Sorylle, but I hadn't been expecting to see them.

We passed by one of the larger springs, and there was Nephry, sitting next to Emperor Peony, both of them wearing bright smiles despite the dark times.

The scene brought a small smile to my own face. I'd seen the way Nephry and Peony had been dancing around each other, especially at the Blue Lights Festival just before Ifrit had shown up. It looked like they were finally starting to admit that there really was something there.

Asch's hand slipped from mine, and I glanced at him just as his freed arm slipped around my waist. "We're not going to find privacy, are we?" he asked, not really meaning the question.

I smiled and shook my head. "Probably not. But I'm glad everyone's taking a moment of down time. Well, almost everyone," I said, amending my statement as I spotted Luke helping the refugees get settled in. Still, seeing his pleased smile as they thanked him... "Then again, I don't think Luke can sit still if you tie him down to a chair."

Asch chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think so either..." He trailed off with a frown, then shook it off. I glanced over in the direction he'd been looking, spotting a few refugees.

"Something wrong?"

"Not really, just... Cantabile's had this... anomaly in her Energy Core for the last month or so, and one of those women has one too... I mean, it doesn't seem to be affecting her at all, so I haven't really been looking all that hard, I'm just curious," he said.

I hummed and glanced over at the refugees again, this time slipping partway onto the second plane to see what Asch had been looking at.

The moment I spotted the little bundle of Energies under the woman's Energy Core, I realized exactly what Asch was talking about... Then froze.

Chesedonia had been... a little over a month ago.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

"Kairi?!"

"I wonder if Cantabile's noticed that Mother Nature decided not to send a calling card this month," I muttered.

"Um..."

I looked over at Asch and smirked. "So. Bets on how big Cantabile's going to get before Jade realizes what's happening?"

Asch, the poor dear, looked so completely confused...

Until he glanced at the woman among the refugees and finally had the location of the tiny Energy Core hit home, shock and then awe taking place of the confusion.

"She's pregnant..." Then the horror set in, and his already pale face got paler. " _Cantabile_ 's pregnant."

"'Bout a month in, yes."

Asch looked very much like he wanted to faint. "Cantabile's pregnant."

"Restating a fact doesn't make it any less true."

"That means... _Jade's_ the father."

"Mm-hm."

Asch sat down rather abruptly. "And thus does the world end..." he muttered.

At which point, the only response I could give was laughter.

Which was how Jade and Saphir found us. Asch sitting stock still, pale as paper, and me still laughing my ass off.

"Good joke?" Jade asked. I grinned up at him, and from the way he immediately recoiled, it must not have been a nice grin.

"Oh yes. We'll explain it once Cantabile gets around to telling you, though. Gods, I hope I'm there to see your face!"

Asch groaned and curled into a ball. "We're all doomed."

Which just redoubled my laughter.

Jade's 'utterly baffled with a side of terrified' expression that tended to only come out when Cantabile was involved was just the icing on the cake.

Saphir just looked confused.

Asch finally uncurled out of his ball as my lungs started having trouble keeping up with my laughter, and he gave me a look. "You don't suppose giving it to someone else would help, do you?"

I sighed, still fighting back the laughter. "I'm not pissing Cantabile off," I said finally.

Asch sighed resignedly. "Hope someone's up to running damage control."

I smiled. "I don't know. Jade can be angelic when he feels like it."

"'Angelic' is _not_ a word I would use to describe myself, and what does that have to do with not pissing Cantabile off?" Jade asked.

At which point, Asch chuckled. "Five months?"

"I'm gonna say two." Asch gave me an odd look, and I grinned back. "I'm banking on Cantabile figuring it out and trying to scalp him, or worse."

"You two are purposely leaving me in the dark about something," Jade realized.

Saphir looked amused. "If it's about what I _think_ it's about, you're better off not knowing until Cantabile figures it out. Because I think Kairi might have gotten it right. Cantabile is not going to be pleased with you."

"What did I do?"

You know... I never realized just how funny a clueless Jade could be.

"Oh gods it hurts..." I managed to choke out between laughs. My cheeks were aching, my chest was heaving, and my lungs were on fire.

All in all, I was getting a very, very good laugh out of this whole thing.

And, now that he'd gotten over the 'horror' of finding out about their unborn child, Asch was taking great pleasure out of Jade's cluelessness himself.

Jade finally decided to spare what was left of his sanity and left, leaving a chuckling Saphir with us.

It wasn't much longer before Guy and Noelle walked past, and though they gave us odd looks, they didn't say anything and just kept going.

Since I was quite comfortable where I was laying on the ground under a tree, and Asch wasn't really in the mood to move around much, we ended up staying there for a bit, even after Saphir left—notably in the opposite direction Jade had gone in—and it was just the two of us again.

I was watching the sky when Asch finally spoke up again. "You know... You always say you want kids... Probably a weird question, but..."

"How many?" I guessed. Asch turned a nice shade of pink, but nodded. I hummed. "Two or three. Growing up an only child... I lost track of how many times I asked my parents if I could have a little sister. They never outright said it until about a year before I got pulled to Auldrant, but they tried. Tried, but I still ended up growing up alone. So I guess it's always been a silent promise to myself, to my future firstborn, that they're not going to have to grow up with that feeling."

Odd... I was holding back tears thinking about it.

"You know... even with the miasma no longer affecting you..."

"I know," I whispered.

Even with my newfound immunity to miasma, I'd still be lucky to get through the first birth with both me and baby intact. Two children would probably not be possible.

We were both silent for a time, and though I don't know where Asch's thoughts were going, mine were still floating along the lines of 'children'.

Which probably explained why I found myself looking over at Asch. "What would you want?" I blurted out.

He looked over at me in surprise. "Huh?"

I smiled. "Boy or girl?"

He stared at me for a while before the blank expression faded to a smile. "Girl."

I smiled back, but didn't say anything else, just looked up at the clouds again for a few minutes. It was a beautiful day... Just like it had been in Baticul, before Undine unleashed her blizzard. I sighed as my mind drifted back to Reighn.

"Your mind's wandered back to depressing topics," Asch mused.

I smiled for a moment before it faded. "I don't know how long it's going to take Reighn to wake up."

"That tends to happen when people fall into comas." Asch paused before standing and walking over, holding out a hand. "There's nothing we can do except wait and hope."

I reluctantly let him haul me to my feet, looking around at Eldrant.

It looked... so different.

"You know... I think I'm starting to get the point."

Asch looked at me curiously.

"King Ingobert's dead. You and Sync are alive. Largo's alive. Keterburg was burnt to the ground... Life goes on. Maybe things were familiar, maybe I let that determine my path in the beginning..." I stopped and shook my head. "It's like throwing a rock into a pond. Every ripple distorts the surface. And Dark, Koran, Cantabile, Sync, Reighn, every life I've touched... Just another rock thrown in. We've made the waters turbulent, Asch. Muddied them up."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. Stagnant water tends to attract mosquitoes," Asch muttered. It took a lot of self control not to giggle at the memory of Asch smacking himself in the face repeatedly trying to kill the mosquitoes that kept landing on the only bare skin they could find.

"Not necessarily a good thing, either," I added. "Muddy water's no good for drinking."

I was silent for a while, eyes locked on a stray cloud that looked vaguely like Sync's head.

"So wait for the mud to settle."

"We don't have that much time," I said. "And even if we did, it's far too late. We're far beyond the familiar now."

Asch hummed, nodded, and put a hand on my shoulder again. "So take what little is familiar with you."

I glanced at him, then back up at the sky.

"This isn't Tales of the Abyss. It's not a game," I muttered. "We can't just reload from our last save file if we screw up." I stopped and looked Asch in the eye. "So I guess we have to make the first try count."

Asch's smile was worth it.

"Stay here, finish healing. I need to go get our people in Daath," I said, starting to walk off, only to pause a moment later. "And Asch..." I glanced back at him. "No matter which choice Natalia takes, or where you'll be in ten years... I'll always be right beside you... In mind, if not in body."

Asch chuckled. "Yeah, let's be honest. If Cantabile gets her way, given the fact that she's now a soon-to-be mother, she's going to retire and hand off her position to you. If for no other reason than because she's cruel like that."

We both got a few laughs out of that, even as I headed off to find Lorelei.

Luke was busy getting the new arrivals settled in, and Myre was either still busy with Selenia, or MIA as usual.

Asch really didn't need to be running around, not with his left arm in a sling to keep him from moving it around.

So. Lorelei it was, then.

I had a mission to complete.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So. I wrote out about a third of the chapter then got stuck. Took part of it, then decided to stick a conversation in between. I'd meant for them to talk about Midlight Crystals._

 _Instead, Asch and Kairi decided to drop the bomb that Cantabile's pregnant._

 _Yeah._

 _I give up. I obviously have no control whatsoever._

 _(Another note to anyone who's noticed me cross-posting to AO3: The lines I used for the Re:ARitA summary came from this chapter.)_


	38. Chapter 5-7 Part 38

_And more angst... But this is the last Part of this Chapter. Then we move on to Chapter 6... Tomorrow. I'm done for today.  
_

 _Also, don't kill me. -runs to hide just in case-_

* * *

" _I'm not Kairi, love. I'm not telepathic." -Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 5.7 – Lady of the Lake  
Part 38**

 **Dark's POV**

I'd only ever heard a silence this loud _once_. The night the Monolith of Syal exploded, when I realized Kairi was gone, Danté was gone, and Gnome was free.

Right now, I almost wished I was back in that gods-forsaken clearing.

Because I wanted to strangle at least half of these men.

I didn't have to look at Natalia to know that she was horrified by what she'd just been told. Didn't have to look at Asch to know that he was enraged by this.

Didn't need a mirror to see just how thin a slit my right eye's pupil had become.

Natalia finally seemed to recover from the shock, and I reached out and snagged her sleeve, a silent request for her not to do something she'd regret. She paused, glanced back at me, and I growled. "Go to Sorylle."

Thank any deity that was listening that Natalia understood the order. Because if I didn't get her out of here now, one of us was going to do something stupid.

Asch took a deep breath and turned to the Council. "I hope you're not expecting an immediate answer." His statement came out calm, but I could hear the undertones of anger and disgust.

Alpine closed his eyes. "The Princess has a week to decide. We cannot allow any longer than that."

Asch nodded, glanced at me, and then left, probably to find something to kill. Arm in a sling or not, he was _pissed_ , and probably enough to disregard the healers' orders.

I led Natalia away, noting Sorylle pacing back and forth just outside the building, and did something I'd probably regret later.

Natalia squeaked when I picked her up and put her on Sorylle's back.

"Go!" I snarled.

Sorylle didn't even stop to argue, just took off, Natalia holding on for dear life.

Judging from her wide eyes, she probably had a feeling I was about to do something stupid.

Much as I wanted to simply kill the Council and be done with it, I wouldn't.

That didn't mean I wasn't going to rip them a new hole.

The noblemen who made up the Kimlascan Advisory Council jumped when I stormed back into the room, and the moment they realized I was alone, their shocked—and in more than a few cases, fearful—expressions turned to outright glares.

I growled, a low, threatening sound that meant nothing, and was simply a warning. "Since it's quite obvious I'm not going to be getting anywhere regardless of Natalia's choice, I see no reason to watch my tongue right now," I started. "You're all a lot of fucking idiots."

Oh good. Now they're mostly horrified and disgusted. Let's see if I can't drag some of that terror back out now.

"You're also damn _lucky_ that I love Natalia. If she chooses to marry another man, then so be it. I will stay by her side as her guard, her confidante, her _friend_. And the _only_ reason why I'm not falling back on my original profession and _slaughtering_ all of you right now is because there is no way in hell I could bear to stand beside her with that much blood on my hands knowing full well I didn't kill you for the sole reason of making the money I needed to _survive_!"

Yup. That did the trick. Completely terrified.

"Natalia was raised a princess, raised to lead, and has done a damn good job of taking care of her people thus far. And if you think I'm not willing to stand by her side, to _help her_ , if you think I'm not capable of caring for the citizens of Kimlasca myself, you're all fools." I stopped, took a deep breath, and leveled my mismatched glare on every last one of them, one at a time. "I'm not going to waste my time asking you to reconsider. You've already made up your minds. But if Gnome himself can't talk me into leaving Natalia's side, _you_ don't stand a chance. Whether you like it or not, and regardless of Natalia's decision, you're stuck with me."

I turned and stormed out again, wondering idly how many of them had just realized _exactly_ why King Ingobert had kept me around after actually meeting me.

You don't mess with a trained killer.

I took off at a sprint, racing through Eldrant and then the fortress surrounding it in my search for Natalia and Sorylle.

Eraia ran at my feet, looking proud as could be, and though I wasn't entirely sure why, I got the feeling it had to do with my little outburst.

In hindsight, outright cursing at the Council and calling them all idiots probably wasn't my brightest idea to date. But they'd always grated on my nerves before, and this... this was the last straw.

Eraia led me straight to Sorylle and Natalia, and the moment they came into view, Natalia ran over to me. "Dark! What did you do?!"

I growled. "Less than I wanted to. Relax, they're all still alive."

Eraia made a few whir-clicks that took me a moment to translate. Once I had, I chuckled a bit. "Apparently scared a few of them enough they lost their bladders."

Natalia looked torn between disgust, exasperation, and amusement.

She finally settled on scared, and that just brought my anger, which I'd just started getting under control, back up again.

"...Dark..."

"I told Gnome this, and the Council, and I'll say it again now," I started. Natalia looked up at me in surprise. "I'm not leaving your side. If that means I have to be your bodyguard for the rest of my life while you share your quarters with another man, so be it."

Glistening hazel eyes stared at me for a few minutes before Natalia's head fell, tears finally slipping down her cheeks.

"What do I do?"

I shook my head. "That's not my place to decide," I said. I stepped forward enough to hug her. "I can't make this decision for you. Neither can Asch. All I can do is promise that I'll never leave your side, regardless of what you choose."

Natalia leaned forward until I was supporting her weight, and finally let herself cry.

Because both options would break her heart in some way.

She'd either have to give up her throne, her country, her people, all of whom were counting on her in these dark times...

Or she'd have to give up the man she loved.

For Natalia, the choice was a difficult one, heartbreak on both sides, and it had come out of nowhere.

To be honest... My anger wasn't for myself. I wasn't angry because the Council was forcing me to have to possibly let her marry someone else. And I sure as hell didn't care about the throne. I was angry at them for forcing this on Natalia.

I'd honestly not been surprised. Because I'd been _expecting_ them to block me from marrying Natalia at every turn. I wasn't a prince, wasn't nobility. I wasn't even all that high up in the military. And I was an assassin, and a replica at that.

None of this bothered me... But I knew it was all just more obstacles between me and Natalia.

I had hoped to marry her one day. But ten years of struggling to survive when I was hunted by my original had taught me to be realistic. I knew I hadn't stood a chance.

Which was probably the worst part of it.

Gnome had spoken like I hadn't understood that this could happen. Like I didn't have a clue that I was out of my league.

And that... that was why I hadn't fallen for his bait. I knew all too well that I wouldn't be able to keep Natalia to myself.

Natalia sniffed as she pulled away, starting to get the waterworks under control again. "How can they ask this of us?" she murmured.

I shook my head. "I'm not Kairi, love. I'm not telepathic."

Natalia slumped back into me again. "I don't know what to do..."

I thought it was obvious. Still, it's her choice to make... "Tell you what. Why don't we go and clear out monsters for a bit?" Natalia looked up at me, completely baffled. "You're upset. I'm... still pretty angry, honestly. Let's take it out on the monsters, and then deal with the jerks on the Council later. They gave us a week."

Natalia offered up a small smile that faded just as fast as it had come before she nodded.

I glanced over at Eraia, who immediately started padding off.

Sorylle, Natalia, and I followed her.

The first room we found was rather sparsely populated, but it gave Natalia a chance to get into the right mindset. The second room was packed.

Sorylle, Eraia and I had worked out something of a pattern when we'd been out here before, but it changed now slightly with the addition of a long-range fighter. For one thing, Natalia couldn't see Eraia, so I had her aim one way while Eraia played around elsewhere.

Sorylle's main job, initially, was making sure nothing got inside Natalia's guard. I needed _something_ to kill myself, after all.

But it wasn't long before I found my anger drained away and my mind drifting to Natalia's safety as I fought.

So Sorylle and I switched places, with her all-out attacking and me guarding Natalia's back.

I lost track of the time as we fought our way through the fortress. The initial slaughtering turned into a competition to see who could kill the most monsters, complete with friendly banter back and forth in both the human and liger tongues.

Natalia's skill with the liger language had come a very long way from the day I'd met her, and as we wandered up a staircase, Natalia and Sorylle teasing each other, I couldn't help but smile, because she'd become amazingly fluent in it.

The first thing that caught my attention at the top of the stairs was the wind. It was _very_ windy up here...

And then I realized where 'up here' was, and Natalia's gasp was my next warning before I looked out over the ocean.

I couldn't help the smile that took over my expression, and my eyes slid away from the amazing sight of the ocean so far below us.

Up here, with her blonde hair and white, blue, and green dress being tossed by the wind... She looked amazing. More than that... "Beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, taking the three steps forward to stand by her side. I didn't hesitate to wrap my arm around her waist. "Yes, the ocean's pretty, but it's not what I was talking about."

Natalia's cheeks turned a bright pink, and I smiled and pulled her a little closer. She leaned into my side, eyes drifting toward the sky. "I know it's selfish... But... I almost wish we could stay up here forever."

"Why can't you?"

Natalia and I reacted, weapons out and twirling, before either of us realized just who, or technically, _what_ , was hovering behind us.

We hadn't heard the hum of her wings because of the wind, but the three-foot-tall girl with the insect wings, dark tan, and brightly colored hair and eyes couldn't be anyone _but_ Sylph.

Sylph, who was holding her hands up and babbling an apology.

I sighed and put the White Lotus chakrams away, Natalia doing the same after a moment.

"You really _shouldn't_ sneak up on people. It's amazing Shadow hasn't gotten his replica body killed doing something like that yet," Natalia said tiredly.

Sylph giggled. "Sorry? It's just the humans inside Eldrant all act scared of me, but you guys came all the way out here, so..."

Natalia's irritation was melting away at an amazing pace.

I couldn't really blame her. Sylph reminded me of Flick... albeit, a slightly less destruction-inclined Flick.

Sylph managed a mid-air backflip. "So? Why not stay up here? I mean, I get humans don't live very long, but still..."

Natalia sighed. "Sylph... Have you been paying much attention to what's been happening on the ground?"

Sylph shook her head. "Not really. Shadow asked me to guard Eldrant, so that's what I'm doing, mostly, in between looking for dragons. Oh, and trying to break up Undine's blizzard, which isn't working all that great because she's _still_ fuelling it. Where in the world did she get the notion that _that_ was a good idea? Bad enough there's that weird warm spot up in Sylvana that I still can't figure out—"

"Undine did more than the blizzard," I said quickly, getting the feeling Sylph would just keep talking if I didn't speak up. "Her actions just before unleashing that blizzard killed Natalia's father... the king of Kimlasca."

Natalia's head dropped. "And now the Council won't let me take the throne unless I'm engaged to a Kimlascan nobleman... If I want to marry Dark, I have to abdicate."

Sylph suddenly froze... Well, most of her. Her wings kept her aloft, but the rest of her stayed very, very still.

Mismatching pink and purple eyes slid over to me. "And you?"

I frowned and tilted my head to the side. "And me, what?"

"What do you think about it?"

I shrugged. "I love her, but it's Natalia's decision. Husband or bodyguard, I'll stand by her regardless. They can't force me to leave." I stopped and shook my head, glancing at Natalia before looking back to Sylph. "To be honest... Natalia's out of my league. A guy like me... I'll be happy just to be able to keep her as a friend."

The worry and fear etched across Sylph's face faded, a proud grin taking its place as she giggled. "Ya know... You might just prove Gnome wrong yet."

She then took off into the air, twisting and twirling around as she danced in the wind, and I smiled at the sight.

Natalia hummed. "I wonder what that was about..."

I shook my head. Because I was starting to get the feeling I knew. "They've seen a love story like ours before," I said. I walked back over to her and slipped my arm around her waist again. "It's not going to end the same way, though. I promise you that much."

Natalia looked up at me for a long few moments before her eyes drifted out over the water again, locking on the faint but ominous clouds on the horizon that were actually the blizzard around Baticul.

I knew, even before she spoke up, that she'd made up her mind. I could see it in that stubborn slant to her eyebrows, the way she held her chin a little higher.

"Dark... Sylph, if you can still hear us... Thank you both. Because I know what I need to do, now," Natalia said.

I nodded, pulling her a bit closer.

Better enjoy what time I had left with her...

Natalia smiled.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _...This chapter. I was a bit stuck. Dark and Natalia got up to the top of Eldrant and... didn't want to do anything but stand there. So Sylph volunteered to help by startling the both of them... and then having a conversation._

 _On an added note, yes, Sylph heard Natalia just then._


	39. Chapter 6-1 Part 39

_Chapter 6! We're getting there... slowly..._

* * *

" _You heard me right the first time, Rem. You're a spoiled little brat." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.1 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 39**

"Get those supplies into the cathedral, they'll go up after the women and children, I need all of you who are ready to leave to find a spot out of the way to sit and wait, and where the _hell_ is Luke?!"

I smiled a bit at the last bit of Cantabile's shout and glanced at Lorelei. "Since Luke's a bit busy at the moment..."

He chuckled. "Best we go figure out how things are going, first," he said. I shrugged, prodded Kade in the back of my mind, and took a large step away from Lorelei just before the miasma cloud swapped out my clothing.

Sooner or later, I'd have to see about getting my uniform put away in my wing pack when I was running around in my casual clothing. In the meantime, this would work.

Lorelei gave me a mildly grateful look before heading toward the shouting. I didn't go that way immediately, instead tapping Cantabile telepathically.

*Ah, hello. Any chance you come with one of the teleporters?*

I hummed. *Lorelei's headed your way. Asch is still recovering from Baticul, and Luke is busy getting the refugees from Baticul settled in. And doing a marvelous job of it, which is why I didn't drag him away,* I replied. *How're things going on this end?*

Cantabile grunted. *Solace, Rialle, and Anise are out in the city and making sure the women and children are all packing up and getting ready to leave, Hue, Largo, and Aerith are coordinating the movement of supplies, and I think I'm about to be sick for the third time this week. _Damn_ it.*

I couldn't help it. I snickered.

*Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.*

Which I did, because Cantabile didn't have a clue.

My whole family is hopeless...

I shook my head to cast that thought off and looked around a bit. *I'm going to find Hue and Aerith, since they're the closest, and see if they need help. Unless you'd rather I take over your job while you find the bathroom?*

*...Please?*

I smiled slightly and took off at a run, passing Lorelei, who was about to make a wrong turn, and snagging him by the sleeve as I went past. "This way, kiddo."

Lorelei yelped, but regained his footing quickly enough. Probably a good thing, since I wasn't exactly slowing down.

"So, how many people can you take at a time?" I asked.

"About fifty, and I can do it about ten times before I have to take about an hour's rest."

Roughly five hundred at a go, then. Which was way more than Luke or Asch could manage, and just barely beating Myre.

"Noted."

We made it to the cathedral lobby just in time to spot Cantabile ducking out, and I smiled and shook my head before falling back into soldier mode as I did a fast estimate of the people in the lobby.

Once I'd run through the civilians, I looked around again, noting the number of soldiers and taking a quick glance at collars, looking for the colors that indicated which division each belonged to.

The red and violet indicated that all of them were Divisions 1 and 2.

*Which soldiers are doing what already?* I asked Cantabile quickly.

*Urg... Division 1 is keeping the civilians under control. Division 2 is mostly just getting supplies set up. Division 3's out helping get everyone pointed the right direction—*

*Thanks, but 1 and 2 were the only ones I really needed,* I said quickly, taking a deep breath. "Oi!"

Some of the movement below stopped as a number of soldiers paused to look up at me.

"If you're Division 1 and not already busy, I need ten groups of fifty civilians! Gather each group in the cathedral," I yelled down from where I was standing well above them. Then I grabbed Lorelei and took off again, holding in the snicker when he yelped at the sudden return to movement.

It didn't take me long to get to the cathedral, and while Cantabile—actually, all of the other God-Generals—frowned at me for it, sliding down the railing of the spiral staircases instead of fighting with the crowds in the lobby was a rather fast way to get where I wanted to be.

Lorelei cheated and used a hyperresonance to get to the ground floor, which had me frowning at him.

He just shrugged at me. "What? As long as it's just me, it's barely a drain on my strength at all. It's pulling apart and putting together a bunch of other people that wears me out."

I rolled my eyes at him as the first group came in, noting one of the soldiers counting out exactly fifty children as they filtered in.

Notably only children. Which would have bothered me if I hadn't been aware of the Order's policies in regards to the catacombs under the city and evacuations. Children and pregnant women first, and the children were to stay together until found by either a parent, older sibling, or designated caretaker.

Keeping everything coordinated was an easy enough task, and to be honest, it bored the hell out of me. Still, Cantabile was grateful to have me around to spearhead things in case she got nauseous, and while she was mostly redundant by the time she got back from the third round, she didn't seem to hold that against me. In fact, if the grateful looks I kept being shot were any indication, she was quite pleased that I was there to take the lead while she was having what she decided was just a really bad day.

I wasn't sure if I should just tell her already, or wait until later. Because if I said anything in range of Rialle, she'd be more than happy to inform Cantabile that the 'women and children' thing now applied to her, too, and she had to go.

So, yeah. I kept my mouth shut, because the last thing I needed right then was a pissed-off Cantabile.

By the time it was dark, we'd gotten almost a thousand people out of Daath already, and then Myre showed up. Between Myre and Largo, the evacuation was able to continue, while Lorelei took a break.

I slipped away to find my bed and get a little bit of sleep while I still could. I didn't know how long it would be before something went wrong, before Gnome or Undine or Rem showed up and started causing problems for us.

I fell asleep almost the second my head hit the pillow.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _The world was quiet. The breeze ruffled the leaves and the grass, and a waterfall off in the distance told me enough about where I was even before I opened my eyes and was greeted by a red-violet sky._

 _I was back in the TimeStream. But why? What purpose did I have here right now?_

 _Why did I keep getting drawn back to this plane?_

 _I got up and started moving around, wondering what could possibly be going on here that would keep drawing me back, over and over again._

" _How did you get back?"_

 _I turned and spotted the girl's white dress easily. Rem was angry, so very angry looking._

" _What do you mean?" I asked. Back where? To Auldrant, to the TimeStream, to Eldrant for all I knew?_

 _Rem clenched her little fists, and I was reminded of a child throwing a temper tantrum. "How did you get back to Auldrant? That barrier should have kept you out!"_

 _Ah. That one. I shook my head. "I don't know."_

 _Rem hissed. "Yes you do. You wouldn't have gotten back at all if you didn't!"_

 _I shook my head again. "No, I really don't know. I know how I'd planned to get back, but that didn't happen. Something pulled me back to Auldrant against my will. I don't know who or what," I replied._

 _Actually, I suspected I did, but the less Rem knew, the better._

" _Why do you have to interfere? Auldrant isn't your home. Leave!"_

 _I crossed my arms, studied the girl in front of me, and snorted, because I couldn't stand this mental image any longer. "You're a brat."_

" _Excuse me?!"_

" _You heard me right the first time, Rem. You're a spoiled little brat."_

 _Rem shrieked, her rage finally showing in more than just her eyes, and she reached out toward me._

 _White-hot pain, hotter than even the pain of the miasma destroying my body, lanced across my torso in a line._

 _Almost magically, what appeared to be a deep gash also appeared there._

 _Rem lunged forward, making use of my distraction to unleash even more attacks on me, and I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was about to look like I'd been thrown into a blender._

 _I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be 'bleeding' so much when I blacked out a moment later, willing myself to return to my body._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I sat up slowly, pressing my hands to my forehead and rubbing.

Like that was going to relieve my headache any.

Still, that had me rather worried. Rem had been on the third plane again, in the TimeStream, to boot, which meant she definitely had some control over Energies. While that just meant things were going to get difficult... well.

There was a reason why I was glad Dark had Eraia, and now I was worried that the little Clockwork Guardian was going to have her work cut out for her. Especially if Rem tried to attack any of my friends.

The only reason I'd survived the encounter in the TimeStream was because I was familiar with not only the way the third plane worked, but because I'd already had one close brush with death.

Suddenly, the Monolith of Syal was less a nightmare, and more a saving grace. Because had Rem torn anyone else apart like that, they'd have died in real life due to their minds simply ceasing to be. This would have left them in a coma for a short while... before they would have inevitably passed away.

Forcing those sorts of thoughts away—it was bad enough Reighn was in a coma, thinking of that possible fate did not bode well for my state of mind—I went back to trying to fight off the aching in my head. It didn't work as well as I wanted it to, and I knew there was only one solution...

However, a light knock at the door let me know that I wasn't exactly going to get to do what I'd hoped to do, and I sighed. "Come in." It wasn't like I had stripped when I fell asleep.

Aerith stuck her head into the room, then stepped in and closed the door, looking almost scared.

Ah. Right.

"Um... Lorelei said... Reighn was..."

"He's in a coma. He was almost right underneath Undine when she unleashed that blizzard on Baticul," I said rather bluntly. Aerith bit her lip.

"He's... gonna be okay... right?"

I smiled. "Yeah. It may be a while before he wakes up, but he's gonna be okay."

Aerith hummed, still rocking back and forth on her feet for a few minutes as she stared a hole in my floor. I decided to leave her to it and go back to trying to control my headache, which really, really wasn't working.

"I want to come with you."

I paused, gave up on the headache, and looked over at Aerith. She had a stubborn glint in her eyes, and an almost defensive stance.

"Reighn and I have really similar skill sets, and with him out, you're down a fighter," she started. "Everything's under control here in Daath... I want to come with you."

I hummed and looked up at the ceiling.

She was right about their skill sets, that was for sure, but there was something else...

As it stood before Baticul, we'd had sixteen people. Sixteen made for an easy split between four groups, since we regularly found ourselves having to split up.

Reighn was down for the count for now. Cantabile would be soon, whenever she realized she was pregnant.

Aerith joining us could do nothing more than _help_ at this point.

Besides, she tended to be a _very_ resourceful young woman... here meaning she had a habit of finding out about things I didn't even _want_ to know of.

I nodded. "Alright. You're right—much as I hate to say it like this, we'll need someone who can stand in for Reighn." Aerith grimaced, and I nodded. "I know. Not a happy thought. Anyway, I can see the sunlight filtering in. How's the evacuation going?"

Aerith snapped from 'worried sister' to 'hardened soldier' mode almost frighteningly fast. "We've got about half of the women and children on Eldrant already. The other half are waiting in the cathedral to be taken once Lorelei's ready to go again. Myre vanished about halfway through the night, though Florian said he heard her muttering something about the Inista Marsh," she reported.

I looked up at the ceiling. "Who all's here? Hue, Largo, Florian, Solace, Rialle, yourself, Cantabile, me..."

"Anise, and I'm not sure if you're counting Tritheim and Lorelei or not," Aerith replied.

I took a deep breath. "Tritheim, not really, but thanks for the notice. Lorelei, sort of." I stopped and started thinking. "Alright. We'll leave Largo, Florian, and Tritheim in charge. I'm bringing Hue with us because I know his fighting style and can trust him to have my back. Sooner or later, we're going to have to basically lock Cantabile up on Eldrant."

"She's pregnant, isn't she?"

"Ah, you noticed, huh?"

Aerith snorted. "Hard _not_ to notice her getting all nauseous for no obvious reason. And it's been, what, a month, month and a half since Chesedonia?"

I smirked. "Yeah. I'm just waiting to see how long it's going to take her to realize it, and then try to castrate my brother so he can't do it again."

It said something about Aerith's maturity that she actually managed to snicker at that rather than look baffled or disgusted.

I stood up and looked around. "Well, nothing I need in here... Except maybe a few of my clothes... but anyway, I'll meet you downstairs."

"I'm going to go change, myself," Aerith said. "I've got a new outfit I've had on order for a while, and since this is going to be fighting, but not strictly Order of Lorelei stuff, now would be a good time to swap out."

I nodded to indicate that I'd heard, and a moment later, Aerith had left.

I finished packing quickly and then headed downstairs to the lobby to see how things were going for myself.

I never made it to the cathedral, though, because a bright flash from outside and the sound of screams had me racing out the door.

Looked like Rem was up for Round 2... whatever Round 2 would be.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Rem. The fights with Rem will be, primarily, based on the 3_ _rd_ _plane. There is one in the next chapter that isn't, and a couple later on, but most of them will be taking place somewhere on the 3_ _rd_ _plane._

 _Keep in mind that the TimeStream is technically a part of the 3_ _rd_ _plane (though it really almost counts as a 4_ _th_ _plane), and all mindscapes are also the 3_ _rd_ _plane._


	40. Chapter 6-2 Part 40

_Rem! ...is a pain in the ass._

 _This is the chapter that had me stuck for the first week of NaNoWriMo._

* * *

" _Okay. Well. We got her down here. Now what?" –Myre_

" _Ouch, ouch, hot, did you_ have _to say that?!" –Anise_

" _Hey, I never denied being crazy. So what does that make everyone who follows me?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.2 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 40**

The moment I ran out of the cathedral, I knew things were about to get complicated.

Because it was _way_ too bright out.

I held a hand over my eyes and looked around. Looked like most of the people I could see had the same idea, but most of them...

I looked up myself, and had to groan. Figured. There stood Rem, up on top of a ledge on the cathedral, glowing a bright white that hurt to look at for long.

"What I wouldn't give to know how the hell to get to and from Aselia right now... could probably use Yuan's help. Or Kratos," I muttered.

"Do I _want_ to know who Yuan and Kratos are?" Rialle asked, drawing my attention to the fact that she was standing right next to me.

I sighed. "I'll tell you later. For now, we need to figure out either how to get her down from there, or how to get up there. Because I'm getting the feeling she's overdue an ass-kicking."

"Assuming we can do anything to her."

I growled. "Oh, I'll figure something out"

"Any chance I could talk you into a... oh, what was it called? Demonic Star?"

I froze and glanced behind me. Nope, hadn't been hearing things. That was definitely Myre, actually willing to help out for once. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure. Why not?"

She gave me an odd look, then shrugged. "Sorry? I never actually had to face off against her before."

I hummed and started pulling in the sixth fonons and miasma I needed.

Normally, I wouldn't bother using a light-elemental arte against Rem. But with Myre using whatever she called those mutated fonons, and the miasma, it might just do some damage.

Rem stopped whatever she was doing to glance down at us confusedly. It was obvious that she thought we were both daft, and no wonder.

Angel Feathers was light-elemental, too.

Rem shook her head and went back to shaping what looking like some sort of an Energy crystal, apparently deciding to ignore us.

"Hm. Bad idea," Myre noted as the odd not-fonons suddenly swirled, replacing the fonons. "Wings of light!"

"Darkened star!"

The two of us both smirked when Rem screeched in pain and shock. "Night Light!"

The 'crystal' Rem had been working on shattered, and the girl dropped to the ground, holding her side where the arte had landed.

The moment she stood up again, though, I had a feeling we probably should have retreated to the bottom of the stairs _before_ we unleashed the arte.

Because one moment, there was a girl in a white dress in front of us, and the next, the light had blinded me, and I felt something scaly smack into me, sending me rolling down the stairs.

Not-so-pleasant memories of taking a tumble down the basement stairs as a child had me reaching out with one hand, managing to snag the railing and stop about halfway down.

When the light faded enough to see again, the little girl was gone, a very, very _angry_ wyvern in her place. I glanced around for Myre, finally spotting her at the base of the steps, bleeding and holding her head, but still conscious, and it didn't look like anything was broken.

I stood up and looked for Rialle, who'd also been at the top of the stairs with us, and spotted her just as she unleashed an Earthquake on Rem.

I smirked and raced down the stairs. Fighting here was a bad idea, but Rialle was small enough to slip into spaces where Rem couldn't do a lot of damage to her, short of bringing down the whole damn cathedral.

Considering the fact that it was me and Myre she was pissed at, I had a feeling Rialle would be left mostly alone.

Myre was stumbling to her feet when I got to her, and a quick Energy scan told me more than enough.

Nothing broken, no concussion, just a lot of bruising and a little dizziness.

"Can you move?" I asked.

Myre nodded. "How the hell did you manage to grab the railing in time?" she asked.

I winced. "Not my first tumble down the stairs. Well. _A_ set of stairs, at least."

She grunted and held her arm to the side, the mace from Grand Chokmah appearing in her hand. "Okay. Well. We got her down here. Now what?"

"Spam Dark Force?"

"Was that an order or a failed attempt at a suggestion?"

I rolled my eyes and summoned Silver Clematis. "Remind me to make sure Selenia stays mostly non-sarcastic."

Myre snorted, but didn't respond. I looked up the stairs toward Rem, again, and noted that Rialle was sliding down the railing, masterfully jumping off and then back on around the larger supports. That usually got her (and the others who did it) yelled at by Reighn, but at least it got her down the stairs without having to roll the way Myre and I had.

"Okay, first things' first. We have to get Rem down _here_ if possible," I said. "And then we have to start figuring out weaknesses. Darkness should be obvious, those wings look like an excellent choice for target, and _watch out for the tail!_ " I yelled as Rem decided swinging that thing at us was a good idea.

Myre stopped casting to duck and roll, barely avoiding getting hit.

Rialle went for a short flight, and I cursed and reached out telepathically.

*Solace! Get your ass up here, we could use your guns!*

*I'm on my way, Anise is with me. Rialle, Cantabile? Largo and Aerith, for that matter?*

I reached out for them. Largo wouldn't be a lot of help, he was just another large target for the dragon. Aerith's spells would likely be useful. I couldn't imagine Rem would enjoy having her wings iced over.

Rialle stood back and started casting, and from the familiar verse, I'd say it was Calendula. Good, she's already slipped back into the healing niche.

Healers. Something we could use.

I reached for Lorelei next. *Think you could go track down Tear?* I asked. Luke was busy, and Asch was wounded. I didn't want him to get involved with this.

There was a general sense of agreement before Lorelei was simply gone from my perception.

I moved, laying down an anchor, and then reminded Myre that I was capable of making them. She'd seen Reighn use a few during the fight against Nebillim, so I hoped that she'd be able to figure out how to use them right now.

My next mission was getting my bow out, but Rem wasn't exactly giving me a lot of time to do that.

I rolled under another attack from her tail, and Silver Clematis disappeared onto my arm even as I pulled my wing pack out and headed off to the side. Rem had managed to break my one bow when she'd sent me rolling down the stairs, and I'd broken a couple arrows in the process, but those that hadn't broken were settled in my quiver where they belonged.

I had started carrying a spare bow and katana in my wing pack after the Sword Dancer fight where I'd broken my katana, and I was never so grateful as I was right then, pulling out the spare bow and nocking an arrow with a practiced speed.

Solace ran up shortly afterwards, and hummed. "So. I'm going to guess from the lightshow and the fact that it's a _white_ dragon, we're dealing with Rem."

"You'd guess correctly. So try not to use too many artes, okay?" Myre replied, unleashing a Dark Force on Rem's wings.

Solace rolled his eyes. "Kinda figured. I'm not stupid."

Myre didn't reply, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know what she might have said if she had.

I shot off another arrow just as Rialle let loose with another Earthquake.

Anise was taking a page out of Myre's book without me having to tell her to, and the next arte that landed against Rem was a Negative Gate.

This was being followed up by a Bloody Howling. Good girl.

Lorelei reappeared a moment later with Tear, who took one look at the dragon-form Rem and ran off to the side.

Lorelei scowled.

"Do we have to do this, Rem?"

The dragon roared, and then let us know that yes, she could breath fire.

"Ouch, ouch, hot, did you _have_ to say that?!" Anise grumbled.

I wanted to laugh. Wanted to, but didn't, thankfully. I think Lorelei might have come after me next if I had.

Tear started healing immediately, and it was a good thing, because Solace was nursing a burn.

Actually, I was the only one who hadn't been too bothered by it, and I blamed that on the fact that, well...

"Oh come on. I've fought against your brother, Rem. I'm more than sturdy enough to put up with a burn or two," I said, unleashing a volley of arrows in what was supposed to be a Shooting Star, but flopped rather badly.

Still, a few of the arrows hit, and I once again reminded myself not to test artes on the battlefield. That wasn't one I really cared for, anyway.

"So, where's... ah. Never mind," Solace started.

I glanced past Rem, just in time to spot Aerith unleashing a very high-powered Frozen Embrace on Rem.

The dragon roared, this time in pain, and I stopped for a moment to gather fonons and miasma.

Another Demonic Star had her screeching again, and Aerith slipped around her to avoid getting stepped on.

The bluenette stopped next to me and groaned. "This is not going to end well, is it?"

I glanced over at Myre, who was unleashing another Dark Force with a scowl. "No, no I don't think it is."

Rem shifted, and the shockwave that suddenly burst from her told me more than enough, even before... oh no.

"Tear, _run!_ "

Tear didn't react fast enough, but Lorelei did, grabbing her and using a hyperresonance to escape from the rapidly-expanding glyph that the rest of us didn't quite manage to escape.

" _You mock me?! I'll see you all killed!"_ Rem screeched, and I honestly wasn't sure if it was in our minds or out loud.

The only thing I registered was the _pain_ , and then the darkness, so very, very different from the sheer amount of light I'd just been subjected to.

It felt like an eternity later when the darkness lifted with a semi-familiar warmth.

Yup. Instant KO.

I stood up, just barely managing to stay standing, and felt Kade's rage somewhere within me.

 _:Shift... let me deal with her,:_ he whispered in my mind.

I didn't even bother to fight it, simply relaxed.

It felt, for a moment, like I was falling backwards.

Then I was caught, and lifted up again, and I had the vague sense of being surrounded by some sort of warmth, and having more than my usual two arms.

There was another screech from Rem, and then she took to the sky, half-flying, half-climbing up the cathedral to get to its very top, now bearing a line of dark scratches along her side.

"Gyah! I hate you all! I'll be back! And I'll _kill_ you, you meddling Otherworlder!"

I didn't react, _couldn't_ react, and Rem vanished, a large, glowing crystal taking her place.

A crystal that quickly began to glow bright enough to rival the sun.

And, from the warmth on my face when Kade's presence receded, I'd say it was probably meant to be a mini-sun...

Which meant, if the people here in Daath weren't careful, sunburn and all the other lovely effects of too much sunlight could become a serious problem.

And...

I almost didn't want to consider the implications of it. What if it was still that bright come night time?

Rialle ran over to me even as the last trace of Rem herself disappeared, and I sat up slowly, already checking the miasma levels in my body.

Huh. That's odd.

I'd used most of it up doing that...

"Kairi?! Are you okay?!"

I looked up at her, still feeling a bit dazed. "Huh? Yeah, fine. Better than fine, really, whatever Kade did managed to kill my miasma levels."

Lorelei was glowing when he walked over... wait, why was he glowing...? "Yeah... that's 'cause he kinda unleashed it all over the place. I'm gonna go tell Sylph to pick a spot to kinda herd all the miasma to so I can get rid of it..."

Oh.

"Whoops."

"Ah, hah, no, it's probably a good thing you two did... whatever the hell you just did," Myre said. "We were getting our asses kicked."

Anise rubbed her behind. "Yeah. A bit too literally for my taste. How the heck are we supposed to fight something that is _literally_ the sixth fonon?"

Myre shrugged. "Theoretically, the same way we fought Undine and Ifrit. With one hell of a lot of firepower. Something we lost too much of, too fast."

I looked up at her, knowing that she was talking about _her_ future. I stood up carefully, shielding my eyes from the honestly-too-bright light. "Well, for now, we should let everyone know that they need to either stay inside, or dress appropriately for coming outside. That crystal she left behind honestly _feels_ like a second sun."

Solace squinted up toward it worriedly for a fraction of a second before averting his eyes. "So we'll have to treat it like we're in the desert?" he asked.

"Yes... and we'll have to find some way to black out rooms in homes, because that thing's more than likely not going to just turn off when the sky gets dark," I added.

Myre sighed, giving the half-destroyed steps a look that was half-wistful, half-regretful, and I knew exactly what she was thinking, because I'd been there before.

I stepped over toward her and put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me with a startled jump. "It'll be worth it," I said.

She turned away. "I wish I had your confidence."

"You do. The aftermath of Northern Chesedonia would have gone a lot different if you didn't. You just lost it somewhere along the line."

Myre snorted. "So says the crazy woman."

I grinned. "Hey, I never denied being crazy. So what does that make everyone who follows me?"

A brown eyebrow arched over an honestly-amused blue eye. "Exceptionally crazy." She walked a ways off and then paused. "If you find that you need me desperately in the next few weeks, I'll be at Tataroo Valley," she said.

Then she was gone, enveloped in her Energy Circle.

Rialle watched her go with a huff. "Helpful," she muttered in a manner that indicated she meant the opposite.

I hummed. "Actually, it was. I have hope for her yet."

Which got me a lot of odd looks, until Solace smiled knowingly.

"So then... back to Eldrant?"

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Haha... So. Kade unleashes small miasma storm, and Lorelei starts glowing on impulse in an attempt to get rid of it. So much... fun?  
_


	41. Chapter 6-3 Part 41

_La, la, lala lala~_

 _Gotta love mass-updating, right? –is shot-_

 _Some hinting in here at a plot twist that I've been idly hinting at for a while..._

* * *

" _Yeah, we get it. You're scatterbrained. Come on. His Majesty is probably not going to be happy when he finds out you've gone and exhausted yourself again." -Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.3 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 41**

The return to Eldrant was sadly anti-climactic.

Actually, I take that back.

It was _relievingly_ anti-climactic.

I headed straight up to the temple, wanting to see about the miasma spot again and wondering once more if there any underground tunnels in the area.

I didn't quite make it there before Dark fell into step next to me. It was hard to tell what he was feeling. His expression, honestly, was a forced kind of blank that usually boded ill.

Which meant, more than likely, Natalia had done what would probably be best for the kingdom.

So I decided not to mention it.

"How's Eraia?" I asked instead.

Dark looked over at me, then looked to his side. He smirked after a moment. "She's... kinda getting stir-crazy. She's determined to do whatever she can to protect me, and... Hang on." He stopped and growled, probably talking to the Clockwork Creature I couldn't see, since I wasn't currently poking around on the second plane.

He finally shook his head. "She said that there's a girl that keeps poking around my mindscape, so she's actually staying out of it to try to keep it closed."

I frowned. "A girl... Young, white dress, white-blonde hair, red eyes?" I asked. Dark glanced at where Eraia must have been, then nodded.

"Apparently. Why?"

"Rem. It's Rem. I've seen her in the TimeStream twice now. Last time... she literally tore my mind apart."

There was a moment of silence.

"Eraia wants to know how the hell you survived that."

I winced. "Practice. Part of learning how to manipulate your mindscape to its fullest is learning to keep your supposed death in the mindscape from killing you in real life. So of course, my mother's managed to kill me before... albeit less painfully than Rem did. I _still_ have a headache from her." I frowned and paused. "Wait, part of that might have been from the first-plane battle a few hours later. She did kinda set up a miniature sun right over the cathedral right after Kade kicked her ass."

"Kade?"

"Sword Dancer, remember?"

"Ah, right. Sorry."

I hummed and shook my head, then noticed that we were at the top of the stairs. I knelt and considered the problem in front of me for a few minutes, before Dark tapped me on the shoulder.

"I think Eraia found something you might be interested in," he said. I stood, then reluctantly pulled myself halfway onto the second plane so I could see the Clockwork Fox.

"Well. Lead the way."

Eraia padded off into the temple, and I followed her a ways, until we came to a wall... a very specific section of a very familiar wall.

Well. Damn.

"We need to get in here, don't we?"

Eraia nodded. I sighed, trying to remember how to work this particular puzzle in the game... unless... "Hey, is there some way to open the passage from the other side?" I asked.

Eraia nodded again, then flicked an ear and let off a string of clicks and whistles that only barely sounded like the liger language. Dark growled back, and after what sounded like a bit of clarification, he turned to me.

"She can't touch anything on the other side of the wall," he said.

Ah. Yes. That would be a problem. Unless...

I sat down and slipped out of my body completely. *I'll be back in a moment,* I told Dark telepathically.

I didn't like walking through walls, but I'd do it then just to get this whole thing over with. Eraia couldn't affect things like this, and while it usually took me a while, I _could_.

Once on the other side, I saw what needed to be done. There was a lever that needed to be flipped, and... ah-ha!

I pulled some wind, earth, and sun Energies over and got to work on the rope keeping the lever in the position it was currently in. It looked like the rope was meant to be cut, so that was just what I was going to do...

Once I got the Energies to form into a pseudo-blade, at least.

The rope finally snapped, and the 'wall' covering the doorway collapsed.

I let myself snap back to my body, stood, and walked through.

When we got to the garden within, I had to stop and look around. Myre had gotten the Unicorn's Horn from here, she must have...

And there was evidence that someone had been here, periodically tending to the garden. And, of course, the staff was gone. But then, I'd seen that at Nebillim's Crag, when we'd fought against the Nebillim replica.

Eraia padded off in one direction, and I followed her, Dark on my heels. When she started pawing at a section of rock that looked almost like a hidden doorway, I hummed.

"I think we might need Mieu," I said, already reaching out for the little cheagle's mind. It was possible for me to contact Mieu like this, but a bit annoying. Ligers were fairly simple, they thought in images. Cheagles tended to think... backwards, was the only way I could think of to describe it.

Mieu was wary about answering, but once I'd spoken, seemed to relax quickly. *Hey, if you're not busy, do you think you can come up to the old temple? We could use your attack ability,* I said.

*Mieu! Be there as fast as I can!*

And Mieu was off.

Excellent.

"Well, I guess for now, we're just going to have to wait for him to get here," I said. I sighed and stood up, wandering around the little garden.

It looked like it had been painstakingly tended to, and I had to wonder if maybe Myre was coming here in between... whatever else she was doing.

"So what do you think could be behind there?" Dark asked.

"Best guess would be catacombs," I said, kneeling in front of Yulia's grave.

Yulia...

Kade stirred within me for a moment, before apparently rolling over and going back to sleep, or something.

It was... odd. It was like having a second personality at times, and then I'd completely forget about him.

We weren't actually there for long before Luke walked in, Mieu on his shoulder.

I smiled. "Ah. He talk you into giving him a ride?" I asked.

Luke shook his head. "No. Asch asked me to come look for you after he felt your field for a moment before it receded again. He's been trying to contact you since he found out you were back," he said. "He said he thought the field's epicenter was in the temple, so I was already headed this way when I found Mieu trying to get up the stairs."

Ah. Yeah, that would have been a neat trick for Mieu.

"Right. Well, I'll contact Asch in a minute. I think Eraia found my path down to that taint. _That_ takes priority."

Luke nodded. "So what'd you need Mieu for?"

I pointed to the sort-of door shape, and Mieu bounced over there without even having to be told. By the time I'd risen out of my crouch and walked over, Mieu had already unleashed his tackle attack on it, and the 'door' had collapsed. I slipped half off the first plane, just enough to see Eraia bounding over toward the new opening, and stepped in behind her.

"Um, Kairi...?"

"The Energies on the second plane give me enough light to see by," I said.

Dark hummed. "You want me to come with you just in case? Eraia's a pretty good fighter, but she can't exactly do a lot of damage at the moment. I'm not so much worried about your ability to see as..."

"You think there might be monsters down here," I said. "Alright. Better find a lantern or something quick, unless you've figured out how to walk around on both planes."

Dark pulled out his wing pack and drew a lamp out of it, then held it down. "Mieu? Do me a favor?"

"Mieu, yessir!" Mieu replied cheerfully before blowing a notably _small_ fireball into the lamp and lighting it.

I smiled. Mieu was definitely doing his best to help everyone out, that was for sure.

I glanced back at Luke. "Would you like to come? There's going to be miasma down here. I can draw it all into my body, but that doesn't get _rid_ of it."

Luke nodded. "Most of the refugees are settled in, and Aerith is currently with Reighn. I kinda want to go to her, pull her away or at least sit with her... but I think she needs some time alone with him, first."

I hummed. "This shouldn't take too long. Maybe not _perfectly_ timed, but at least you should be able to get back to her quickly enough."

Luke nodded again. "Alright. Lead the way, then."

I turned and looked at Eraia, who was honestly looking quite impatient.

She led us through what were most definitely catacombs, and when she finally stopped in a round room containing a marble tomb in the center, I got the bad feeling that while we'd found the miasma and negative Energies... Well...

The moment Luke stepped into the room, a stone door slammed down behind him, and I scowled.

"Dark, find some way to either hang that thing or light a few torches!" I ordered, summoning Silver Clematis.

Dark hung the lantern up and pulled out his chakrams. "Mieu? Think you can make a run around the room?" he asked. Because that one lantern was _not_ going to do us a whole lot of good.

Mieu ran off to do just that, in time for what looked vaguely like the Sword Dancer but most certainly _wasn't_ Kade to come out of the casket.

"Well... this sucks..." I muttered. "Alright, now what are we going to do? It's kinda obvious that fighting it head-on won't be a good... Eraia?"

The Clockwork Fox had just jumped straight through the thing, and it was already collapsing...

Eraia padded back around with another tainted Midlight crystal in her mouth, and I hissed. Great. That meant I really needed to get this thing cleansed. Explained why the springs were so bad, though. I could _feel_ the sheer number of water energies right below this. If this crystal was the focal point, it would explain a lot about how the whole island kept getting tainted. Eraia put the crystal down in front of me, and I quickly pulled out my chalks to make the base circle I needed around it. Then I built a barrier out of energies, making sure to make it properly spherical. It wouldn't collapse the way it needed it to if it wasn't.

I started to pull on sun and fire Energies next, and then, once I was sure I had enough...

Those got put in with the crystal, and just as before, a black, oily-looking blob came out of the crystal after a moment of struggling with it.

Eraia swatted the crystal free with her tail, and I let myself marvel over the soft honey color for just a moment before I redirected my attention to where it needed to be.

On the taint... blob... thing.

I shoved against my spherical barrier, collapsing it inwards, and it snuffed itself and the oily-looking blob out.

Which left me to look over at the Midlight crystal and outright stare. Because while crystals made purely of moon Energies were the rarest in existence, or so I'd thought...

I'd never seen one made of _sun_ Energies. Those things were supposed to be _myth_ , and Eraia was sitting there, looking between it and me expectantly.

I held a hand over it, then turned to look over my shoulder at Dark. "Come here..."

Dark frowned, but let his chakrams shift back onto his arms and walked over. "What is it?"

"Looks like another Midlight crystal to me, but wasn't the one you gave Rialle green?" Luke asked. I nodded.

"Earth Energies. We found a huge one that's moon Energies, two that don't have specific elements assigned to them, another earth, a water, and a wind between the two Gates," I said. "This one... This is..." I stopped and shook my head. "This is pure _sun_ Energies. They're... they're not supposed to exist, honestly. Anyway, hover your hand over it. I need to make sure you're compatible."

Dark hummed, but did so without asking any more questions, which spoke volumes about the amount of trust he had in me. Behind me, I could feel Luke gathering up seventh fonons, cleansing the area of the miasma while I worked with Dark and the crystal.

I didn't have to _feel_ anything. I could _hear_ the resonance between Dark and the crystal, and that told me all I needed to know.

Rialle had resonated almost as strongly with the earth crystal I'd given her.

I sighed and glanced at the now-destroyed tomb, before standing and pulling the relatively massive moon crystal out. "Alright. Give me a few minutes to get this thing set up, and then I'll worry about binding that crystal," I said, setting the silvery crystal at what had been the foot of the tomb.

It took me about ten minutes to get the crystal fully engraved with the correct glyphs, and once I was done, I honestly wasn't up to doing much more than falling asleep. Something Dark and Luke seemed to realize.

Luke just sighed, that oh-so-familiar tone of fond exasperation that Asch always managed when I over-stretched myself trying to fix things. "Come on. Worry about the gold crystal later, hm?"

I hummed. "Right... Eraia? Think you could be a dear and hold onto that for us? I kinda need to talk to Dark about you, too... Keep forgetting to do that..."

Dark sighed and wrapped an arm around me, trying to keep me upright. "Yeah, we get it. You're scatterbrained. Come on. His Majesty is probably not going to be happy when he finds out you've gone and exhausted yourself again."

I frowned at that statement, trying to make logic out of it, before it smacked me upside the head with a struggle bat.

Of course Emperor Peony would worry. Jade and I were practically family already, and he'd always had a thing for Nephry.

And he knew as well as anyone how bad I could get.

So, mystery solved and brain very obviously beyond fried, I simply allowed Dark to half-drag me back out of the catacombs.

Luke led the way, holding up the lantern Dark had brought down with us to cast light, and I somehow managed not to stumble too badly as we left the tunnels and reached the garden area again.

I stumbled back to the group's designated sleeping area mostly on autopilot, and ended up collapsing into my bed. I was still floating in and out of consciousness when I heard Asch walk in, sigh, and sit next to me.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Eraia wrote this chapter for me. I kinda got stuck, and she jumped in, told me about the catacombs, announced the presence of the skeleton, snagged that crystal... she basically wrote this chapter all by herself._

 _Thank you, Eraia!_


	42. Chapter 6-4 Part 42

_And herein, stuff happens! –is shot-_

 _On another note... Yes, Hue, I did. Sort of. I swear it was in the outline! It just... kept... getting pushed back... and back... and back... -winces-  
_

 _ **Edit** : Thank you to Vo1dSw0rd for pointing out that I missed turning the greater-than/less-than signs in this chapter into asterisks. It has been corrected._

* * *

" _Between the three of you in Kimlasca, Jade, Guy, and Peony in Malkuth, and me, Cantabile... and Solace in Daath, one would think our group as a whole could manage ruling the entire gods-damned world. But nooo..." –Kairi_

" _It's Jade. When is he not being a sarcastic pain in the ass?" –Dark_

" _You completely forgot about that, didn't you?" –Hue_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.4 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 42**

When I woke up the next morning, it was to a bit of a surprise.

"Hm. Morning sleepyhead."

Asch grunted and rolled over... right out of the cot he'd shoved up next to mine.

I wasn't sure whether to pity him or just laugh when he yelped upon landing on the floor.

From the snickers on the other side of the room, I wasn't the only one amused.

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing the only people who might have seen that are your friends," Jade said. "I'd hate to see where a few gossiping women could take it."

Asch grunted. "I'd tell you to shut up, but that's never worked before."

Jade chuckled. "Yes, and I'm also a citizen of Malkuth, so you'd have to run that past Emperor Peony first, and by then, I'd be off to bother someone else."

I grunted. "I feel like I'm looking at a puzzle with all the middle pieces taken out," I grumbled into my pillow.

"You know, for the woman who is to be the next Queen of Kimlasca, you mumble an awful lot."

" _Jade!_ "

Yeah, yeah, ye—Wait.

What?!

My head shot back off the pillow as I flipped around to stare at Jade, quite certain that I was having a really _bad_ dream. "Ex _cuse_ me?!"

Jade froze, glanced at Asch, who looked very much upset, and adjusted his glasses, something I'd long since learned was a bit of a nervous tick for him. "Whoops."

Oh no.

Oh, no, no, no, no—

But... Wait. If Asch was the next King, that meant...

"Natalia... abdicated?"

Asch nodded. "Yes. You should have seen it. When Sorylle came to get me not even an hour after you left and I walked into that room to see Dark standing right where he's _supposed_ to, as her bodyguard... For a long moment there, I really thought Natalia was going to do it. I thought she was going to accept marrying someone else to keep the throne."

Jade chuckled. "It was actually rather funny to _listen_ to. I walked past just in time to hear Natalia announcing her abdication, and then stuck around because I was curious. Of course, the Council members almost immediately got on her about choosing her personal happiness over her people..."

Asch snorted. "I missed Dark's first round of ripping into them. I'm glad I was there for the second one. It was... haha. Memorable."

I couldn't help but laugh a bit myself. "Yeah, Dark tends to not hold back when he goes after people." And then the amusement faded. "So... I guess... that means _you're_ going to be the king."

Asch nodded. "Technically already am. The moment Natalia abdicated and I accepted the duty to our people, the Council handed over most of the authority," he replied. "We're still in a state of emergency. The coronation won't be until after we can return to Baticul and get things cleaned up, but..."

I sighed. "Well. I guess, at least this way, Natalia won't get bogged down with all the political nonsense. She's always been a more hands-on person."

Asch hummed. "And Dark said that he had no intentions of leaving the Kimlascan military. Between that, and the fact that Natalia is still a part of the royal family, if not the queen, they'll still have plenty of weight at court."

"Between the three of you in Kimlasca, Jade, Guy, and Peony in Malkuth, and me, Cantabile for however long _that_ lasts, and Solace in Daath, one would think our group as a whole could manage ruling the entire gods-damned world. But _nooo_ , we have to deal with the sentiences first."

Jade made that familiar trying-not-to-choke coughing sound that said he was fighting back a laugh.

I sighed, the beginnings of a laugh managing to work their way out, as well. "So, I guess this means we need to get our asses in gear and actually do something useful, then?" I asked.

Asch hummed. "Or at least not sit around all day. By the way, why did Dark and Luke have to practically carry you in here?"

I blinked at him, then basically launched myself out of the cot, because... "Crap, gotta go bind that crystal! And check the spring! Dammit, where's my other boot?!"

Jade was laughing at me, and to be honest, I didn't really care at that moment. I just needed to get my other boot and... wait a sec.

I took another glance at the boot I was carrying around, and gave Flick's cot a wary look. "Please, _gods_ , tell me I'm wrong..."

I knelt and looked under the cot.

Sure enough, there lay my other boot.

Again.

"Yeah, she's Stitch alright," I grumbled, pulling the boot out and pulling it onto my foot.

Asch chuckled. "Yeah, I actually found _my_ left boot under there the other day. And my clothes don't get scattered to the four winds like yours tend to."

I stuck my tongue out at him, then was on my feet and reaching out for Dark telepathically.

Oh good, he nearby already.

*Eraia with you?* I asked.

*Yeah. Nice to see you up again. Well. Hear you up again.*

*Yeah... So. When exactly are you two planning to get married?*

I felt Dark half-groan, half-laugh on the other end of the channel. *Maybe once I'm legal? Remember, I'm still only fifteen... okay. Going on sixteen, but I'm still fifteen.*

I hummed. *True. Still. Thank you for letting me know Natalia abdicated last night.*

*I didn't... oh. Heh. Sorry?*

I chuckled. *It made for an interesting morning. Now then, hold still. I need to get that crystal bound to you and your moving around isn't helping.*

Dark finally stopped wandering further away from me, and I cut the connection as I rounded the last corner. He crossed his arms, looking amused.

"So. Asch told you this morning?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not exactly. Jade popped off with something. I know he was trying to be a sarcastic pain in the ass, but, well..."

Dark snorted. "It's Jade. When is he not being a sarcastic pain in the ass?"

"Very occasionally," I replied, grabbing Dark's arm and pulling him off in another direction. Privacy. We wanted some privacy for this. I slipped half onto the second plane and glanced around our feet. Yup, there was Eraia, padding along after Dark like a puppy.

Once we'd retreated to one of the springs, I sat down and indicated that Dark needed to sit across from me, which he did. They'd seen me do this for Rialle, and now it was his turn.

Eraia put the crystal down between us, then sat back and tilted her head to the side curiously.

I didn't understand the clicks and whirs she made at all, but Dark seemed to already.

"Any idea how much different binding her to the crystal will be from binding it to me?" he asked. I shook my head.

"That's not something I'm going to have to do much more that supervise for," I said. "Eraia is _your_ Guardian. And on _that_ note..." I took a deep breath. "Dark. Your mindscape is open when Eraia is there. Like any Clockwork Guardian, she's more than willing to defend it herself... but you need to learn how to fight on the third plane as well. I also need to help you build up a Doppelganger body, at least long enough for you to have two sets of memories when I kill the Energy body."

Dark gave me a worried look. "Kairi?"

"Rem can fight on the third plane," I said. "She's fast, fast enough that I'm not sure I'd have been able to react even if I'd realized what she was doing before she actually got to doing it. She tore my mental presence apart with barely any effort. If she'd done something like that to Asch, or Jade, or any of our other friends, their minds would have simply ceased to exist and they would have died."

Dark swallowed. "So Rem's a threat that Eraia might not be able to keep out on her own."

I nodded. "You have to protect your mindscape. Eraia can drag Rem forcibly back to the TimeStream, if given the chance. But your mindscape is the very _base_ of your mental presence, that's why it shifts as your personality, goals, and values change," I replied. "But if Rem is capable of tearing us apart like that, you have to learn how to let yourself... relax, so to speak. Let it go just enough to snap back together when you should simply be falling apart."

Dark nodded. "And you figured it out when you died at the Monolith of Syal."

I hummed. "Mom taught me a few tricks, but yes, the Monolith of Syal was the one that really did the trick. Thing is... you really do feel like you've died, once you get everything worked out. So it's kind of... like training yourself to not fear death, as well as a bit of a feeling of knowing you can't be killed. Although you have to be careful with that second one."

Dark nodded. "So... Just another kind of training, I guess."

"Yeah."

I shifted the sun crystal a bit and started drawing on the stones under us. I was quickly running out of chalks, though. Funny, I'd gotten these back in Keterburg when I'd first landed in Auldrant...

And really I just needed blue, white, and orange. Every other color was still at least two inches long.

Just proof that I didn't use the healing circles very often. Or the other ones, really...

This one, though, just like with Rialle's, would need a bit of pink mixed in with the primarily white and orange circle. Pink... and probably some of the yellow, because that sun crystal was... well. Sun Energies.

I was used to having to alter this circle to fit the needs of the crystal and person, so when the final result ended up having a total of _five_ colors in it, and I saw Dark's bemused look, I had to shrug. "What? The white part is a general Energy circle, allows me to manipulate the Energies within the circle. The orange is a protection circle, helps to buffer you from the pure sun Energies. The pink is actually to help with the binding, something that I had to add to Rialle's because I'm not real practiced at this and can't do it by feel, the way I normally would."

"I'm guessing the yellow has something to do with the sun Energies?" Dark asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. It's a secondary buffer, and a bit of a... well. It'll help me to control them. Because I'm not real great at controlling sun Energies," I admitted. "And then there's the gray."

"Moon Energies."

"To make sure the sun Energies don't completely drown the moon Energies in your Energy Core," I said. "You use magic, or at least fonic artes, pretty regularly. Your body is used to having a high number of moon Energies. So the last thing I want to do is mess up that balance."

Dark hummed and nodded. "Now what?"

I placed the crystal back into the center of the circle and carefully prodded moon and water Energies at it.

The movement of the Energies in the center of the crystal started up again, and the crystal went from simply being a pretty honey-golden color to glowing a soft gold.

"Hold your hand over the crystal. Don't touch it," I said, softly. Dark did so, notably holding his left hand over it.

His dominant hand.

Because even though he wrote with his right hand, tried to make it look like he was right-handed, he really was left-handed.

It was an oddity that I had to wonder whether it affected Danté, as well. Because Asch and I were the same—born left-handed, but trained to use our right hands as if those were our dominant hands.

Something Luke hadn't been forced to do. But Danté and Dark had both been raised from a young age by Ryndor and Rhunön, so it didn't surprise me that they'd caught the discrepancy with both original and replica.

I laid my right hand over Dark's left, and pressed the fingertips of my left hand to the outermost Energy circle. Because I'd need the control I had with my left hand to make sure this worked correctly.

The Energies within the circle shifted into a whirl, and I initially frowned at the clockwise movement before forcing down the urge to smack myself.

Of course they'd go the other direction for Dark. Rialle's Energy core wasn't inverted. His _was_.

The Energies gathered, swirling, and the glow from the Midlight crystal increased, somehow managing to hide the crystal from our eyes without completely blinding us. Good, that meant it was going to change shape. Rialle's earth crystal had formed into an armlet. This crystal was a bit larger, and with Dark, there was no telling what form it would take. But it would be _his_ , until he died, and then the Energies would simply disperse.

Whether a new Midlight crystal would form was another story altogether, but with the sheer number of Energies on Auldrant and all the rarities I'd found already, I had no doubt that somewhere, there would eventually be another sun crystal.

The light faded, and Dark took a deep breath before glancing up at me. I smirked. "Yeah. I tend to get that reaction."

He hummed as the Energy circle faded, revealing that the chalk had simply vanished as it always did, and we pulled our hands away.

What sat between us... was a sun pendant on a golden chain. I smiled as Dark picked it up carefully before putting it on. The honey-gold crystal glinted, and Dark continued to stare at it for a moment before he glanced at Eraia. I didn't say anything. I knew already that Dark knew what had to be done, because if Eraia had spent any time in his mindscape at all, the knowledge was already there.

So I simply left them to do that before heading off to look for other people.

Hue was the first one to find me. "So."

"So."

"Ari had a replica."

I froze. "Fuck."

Hue chuckled. "You completely forgot about that, didn't you?"

I winced. "Uh, Hue? Path and the rest of the replicas... are supposed to be gathering at the Tower of Rem. Still. And we said we'd be back for them."

"Well. Suppose we ought to rectify that, hm?"

I couldn't quite help it. I had to reach over and smack him.

"Having fun over here?"

I glanced over at Asch, who was walking over with Jade and Cantabile. I hummed. "We need to send a group to the Tower of Rem," I said simply.

Asch gave me a confused look, and Cantabile—who had ditched her uniform—was no better.

Jade cursed.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I would like to impress on you all the importance of a little thing we authors sometimes like to use called the 'Unreliable Narrator.'  
_

 _Dark, despite seeming to be a realist... is, in fact, a pessimist. And he was suspiciously silent in the last chapter. Kairi (mistakenly) assumes this to mean that he's lost Natalia to politics and she chooses not to bring it up. He spends most of Chapter 5.7 bemoaning the fact that Natalia is out of his league and he's got no chance in hell at actually getting to keep her,_ especially _with King Ingobert dead. But all of this is just him ruminating... And Natalia, once her mind is made up, can be one very STUBBORN woman.  
_

 _So, yes. Dark's comment of 'His Majesty is probably not going to be happy' last chapter wasn't referencing Emperor Peony, as Kairi assumed, but Asch. Who, predictably, is not all that happy that Kairi exhausted herself. Again._

 _(On another note, I love the scene where Kairi finds out about the whole thing. Her 'Yeah, yeah, ye-Wait, what?!' and then Jade's 'Whoops...' still gets me every time._


	43. Chapter 6-5 Part 43

_Haha. So. The replicas... Is everyone ready to figure out who the other replica Myre ran into before jumping to the past was? He gets his name (officially) in this chapter._

 _Also... Looking back on it, Guy's line here just makes me and Kairi cringe._

 _We didn't plan half of that. For gods' sake, Kairi just wanted to be a nomad! But nooo... -dies-_

* * *

" _Yeah. Okay. I guess I did call it, in that rather oxymoronic way your family seems fond of." –Kairi_

" _You're from another world, telepathic, the adoptive little sister of a man who got the nickname 'Necromancer', engaged to the King of Kimlasca, a God-General of the Order of Lorelei, and somehow still_ mostly _sane. I'm at the point where nothing you say is going to surprise me." –Guy_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.5 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 43**

I wasn't sure whether to be amused or just plain irritated.

I was piloting the Albiore III again, and we'd intended to simply try to land on top of the Tower of Rem rather than landing at the bottom and taking the elevator up.

Unfortunately, a small city of tents had taken over the top of the tower.

So I had to land on the ground, before glancing around at the group I'd brought with me.

Fallon, who had stubbornly insisted on coming when she'd found out where I was going. Guy, who was really not wanting her in the middle of what could become a battle zone, but who was willing to at least come with us so he could protect her if all else failed. Dark, acting as a representative of Kimlasca in his formal military uniform, for once. Aslan Frings, also in his uniform.

And Hue, who was apparently so bored out of his mind that he'd thought sneaking onboard the Albiore III was a fun game.

He hadn't actually meant to be on it when it took off, which was the only reason I wasn't threatening to court-martial his ass.

Well, that and the fact that he was more useful to me if he wasn't locked up.

Times like these, I'd let people get away with a lot of shit, just because I needed them so damn bad.

Once I had the Albiore shut down, the group headed for the exit. Dark and Aslan were currently talking about relationships between the two countries, or more specifically their militaries, and I couldn't help but be amused by the fact that Dark was so easily slipping into soldier mode.

It had been faint, but it was obvious that Dark had been doing his best to learn his way around the nobility before. Because if Ingobert had gotten his way, Dark would have been the next King, ruling at Natalia's side.

Now that there was no chance of him having to take the throne, he was falling back on his other option for making sure Natalia had an excuse to stay close to Asch, rather than the Council pushing her away as they'd probably intended to do.

Dark was planning to climb the ranks in the military, and given his age, his current rank would probably be stuck for a while.

It didn't take us long to get to the actual tower, and even less time to get to the elevator once inside. Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about Star or anyone else this time, so we simply stepped onto the elevator and headed up.

The moment the elevator stopped, the five of us who could fight slipped into a circle around Fallon, weapons either drawn or our hands held in such a position that we'd be able to attack easily once we'd _materialized_ our weapons.

"Don't hurt them!" I heard two voices ring out.

Fallon... and Path.

Aslan froze for a long moment, before glancing back at me. "You forgot to mention that Ari was replicated."

I shrugged and pointed to an unsurprised Hue. "I told the important person."

Aslan rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword before turning to look at a baffled Path.

Fallon ran over to him, and I noticed the Van replica walking over as well.

"I'm glad you're alright," Fallon started. "The sentiences have been hitting the originals pretty hard."

"We hadn't had a chance to get back here yet, so we weren't sure if you were all okay or not," I said, wording it in such a way as to imply that we _hadn't_ simply forgotten them.

Path looked over at me and smiled, an innocent smile that I'd have never found on Ari's face. "I'm just happy you came back at all. A few of the replicas who've come are ill, and we don't have the medicines to take care of them." He paused and looked at the ground. "Though I guess, if you're being attacked, you probably don't have a lot to spare, either."

I shook my head. "Not much, but I'm a healer of sorts. I can see what I can do for them while I'm here," I said. "Also, we've been evacuating the women and children to Eldrant, as it's the only true safe haven. We're willing to extend that offer to the replicas as well."

Fallon hummed and looked over at Path—hey, where'd he get that green coat, anyway?—and the Van replica... who really needed a name. "I think we should talk about it amongst ourselves for a bit," Fallon said.

I nodded, then looked directly at the Van replica. "So... Do you have a name yet?" I'd originally meant for Tear to pick a name for him, as he was her brother's replica, after all, but...

He shook his head. "No. Many replicas who have learned their original's names came to the tower bearing them as their own, but..." He gave Path a wry look, and Ari's replica had the decency to look sheepish.

"Well... You did say I wasn't Ari. Just like I'm not my original... It's not quite right for the replicas to keep their original's names. And most of them agreed with me when I was talking about it..."

Hue chuckled and gave me a look. "Gotta say, you've got our family's penchant for oddly appropriate names... In the sense that they're not appropriate at all."

I blinked. "Huh?"

I couldn't help it. I was so confused at this point...

Path was, too, from the looks of it. Hue just laughed. "Kairi... Would you have ever called my older brother greedy?"

"Far from it," I replied. Then realized where he was going. "And you, despite being a complete and total smartass, have to be one of the most _humble_ men I've had to deal with in the Order." I couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Yeah. Okay. I guess I _did_ call it, in that rather oxymoronic way your family seems fond of."

"Uh... I'm still confused," Path piped up. I smiled.

"Avarice is a fancy word for greed. Avarice Miles, your original, was everything _but_. Hubris?" I gestured absently at Hue. "Fancy word for pride. Something I sometimes wonder if I have to beat into his head to get him to take credit for something." I gestured to him next. "Apathy is a bit different. Someone who's apathetic tends to not feel much. It's a form of sloth, laziness." I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow even as Path broke down into chuckles.

"Yeah. I guess I fit right in."

Hue smiled. "You got that right."

Path's smile faded after a moment as he glanced over at the Van replica. "Um..."

The tallest of the three 'lead' replicas sighed and looked at me. "Some of the other replicas are using their original's names to come up with their own. I was... sort of wondering..."

I offered up a sad smile. "Your original's full birth name was Vandesdelca Musto Fende. He went by Van Grants for most of his life..." I paused and glanced at Dark. Well... She'd been more than happy to have Solace, and they'd hoped to find Valon, before the mess at Keterburg, so... "Tear, Van's little sister, wouldn't mind you taking the Fende surname," I added.

Hue hummed and gave Path a look when the replica suddenly slumped. "And I've already made sure to add the name of one Apathy Miles to the Miles accounts."

Which had Path jumping slightly and outright _staring_ at Hue, mouth twitching up into a nervous smile.

The Van replica looked over at me. "What was his first name, again?" he asked.

"Vandesdelca," I said, a bit more slowly. The replica looked up to the sky, then smiled.

"Del."

I blinked for a few minutes, then had to smile.

He'd pulled a part of the original's name out to use as his own... That was certainly one way to do it.

I hummed. "So... Nice to meet you, Del. And now I'll assume you three would like us to leave you alone so you can talk?" I asked.

Fallon nodded, and I pulled Dark, Aslan, and Hue away. Guy was already running around, playing with whatever fontech he could find in that almost-childish way he always did. It amused me to no end.

He stood and ran over to me when he realized I was done talking to the three leader replicas for now. "Hey, one of these guys said there's some fontech down below the main floor that we might want to look at. I dunno what any of it's for, he wouldn't say anything other than 'there's stuff down' there, but since Dawn Age fontech is kinda your thing..." Guy said, speaking a bit more quickly that was strictly necessary.

I smiled, shook my head in amused exasperation, and then turned to look at the other three. "Dark, Hue, Aslan. You three should be able to handle things up here. Don't rush those three too much, they'll probably want to run around and talk to the rest of the replicas for a bit. I'll go down below with Guy, see if there's anything down there we might be able to use to our advantage.

Dark nodded. "At this point, just about anything will be useful, so it's not like you'll be wasting your time if the only thing you find is something to help with civilian stuff. I mean, come on. We're trying to colonize Eldrant while it's _still_ expanding, not to mention the monsters that keep popping up."

I nodded and headed over to the lift, Guy right behind me. We waited for it to sink down to the ground floor, and then the two of us got off and started wandering around. I didn't think the elevator would be able to sink any lower, because I'd always seen a metal 'floor' under it when it rose, but there was always the chance that there was another one or there were some stairs that you didn't see in the game.

"Any ideas?" Guy asked.

I shook my head. "No. There was no basement in the... uh... crap." Haha. Guy didn't know this was a game yet.

"In the what?" he asked.

I shook my head. "You know what? Ask me again sometime when we aren't being attacked by angry sentiences."

"Um.. We're not. Not right now at least. So why...?" Guy started. I did the grimace/groan combo I usually did when I slipped and said something around Asch or Sync that I really meant to stay silent on.

"Guy... There's some stuff about Earth that I haven't told you guys about. Including... Well. This world, Auldrant... exists in what I know... _knew_... as a game called Tales of the Abyss. Something you've more than likely heard me, Asch, and Sync mentioning before," I replied, pointedly not looking at him.

"So... Your familiarity with Dawn Age tech... is that knowledge from the tech you're used to or just stuff you've figured out from the game?" Guy asked.

I shook my head. "Combination. Knowledge of the passage rings' existence, the Planet Storm, a lot of the problems _caused_ by the Planet Storm, that's all stuff I learned from the game." I stopped and crossed my arms, giving Guy an odd look. "You're taking this rather well."

Guy shrugged. "You're from another world, telepathic, the adoptive little sister of a man who got the nickname 'Necromancer', engaged to the King of Kimlasca, a God-General of the Order of Lorelei, and somehow still _mostly_ sane. I'm at the point where nothing you say is going to surprise me."

I really just couldn't help myself. I had to laugh. Because Guy was right. At this point, I could tell him Cantabile was pregnant, and he wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Well, and he was a pretty relaxed guy, anyway.

"So. Basement... basement..."

"Hey, what's this?"

I walked over to whatever he'd found and started looking at it, trying to make sense of the switches.

That was when I realized what I was looking at. "Oh! Oh, so _that's_ the trick!"

Guy gave me a confused look, and I grinned and flipped a couple of switches. We couldn't see it, because the elevator was in the way, but from the whirring and the sound of metal shifting, the 'floor' under the elevator had retracted.

"Come on," I said, waving Guy onto the elevator behind me. He followed, and frowned as I hit the button for 'down'.

"Um, Kairi..."

He cut off there as the elevator began its descent, and he was quiet for a bit before giving me a worried look. I smiled and gestured to the ring of light above us that was the ground floor. "The metal 'floor' you see when the elevator is up at the top of the tower wasn't actually the floor. It was a retractable ceiling, like for the Albiore hangar."

Guy hummed. "Neat." There was a moment of silence. "Things like that common in your world?"

I nodded. "Fairly. Not in everyday buildings, but there are some cases were it gets used. Kinda impractical in some places."

Guy hummed. "I see."

"Though, I personally prefer the Albiores over airplanes."

"Uh..."

"Same basic function, but for two things. One, airplanes tend to be louder. Two, the Albiore is fairly easy to pilot. Not that I'd know how to pilot an airplane. I've never learned, but... Well." I gave Guy a sheepish, what can you do? Sort of look.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence until the elevator stopped, and once it had, we stepped off. I immediately slipped half onto the second plane, because I couldn't see down here in the utter darkness.

Guy stayed right where he'd stopped as I wandered around. He knew my trick from when I'd shown him around the underbelly of Yulia City, so for him, it was a waiting game for how long it would take me to find the light switch.

Once I had, and had triggered it, I almost wished I hadn't.

Because with the lights off, even the faint light from the glowing Energies hadn't been enough for me to see what had been contained in the large tubes around the area.

I swallowed, glanced at Guy, and immediately turned the light back off.

We'd have to come down here again later, of course... but for now, the poor souls we'd stumbled upon could rest in peace.

After all... If I couldn't see their Energy Cores on the second plane... Every last one of those men and women were dead.

I half-pushed Guy onto the elevator and pressed the button to send us back up to the ground floor.

"All of those people..."

"We'll have to come back later," I said.

"But—"

"We don't have the time to investigate this... let alone do anything about the bodies."

Guy was silent.

I was angry.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _...I have no idea where this particular side-plot came from (the Tower of Rem's Basement). However, it did manage to make itself relevant in my notes for later on. So... Hooray? -scratches head-  
_


	44. Chapter 6-6 Part 44

_La, la, lala lala~ My laptop and MSWord are not appreciating the massing amount of editing._

* * *

" _Lorelei... You and Sylph are a lot alike. Complete sweethearts, but you're both excessively ditzy." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.6 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 44**

Guy and I made sure to reseal the basement before returning to the top of the tower. Guy made a beeline over to Fallon, who was knelt next to a young girl, and hugged her, and I couldn't blame him.

Some of the bodies I'd spotted had been of children, and the one closest to the light switch had most definitely been female.

Dark walked over to me, glancing over at Guy a couple times. "What did you two find?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Something to be set aside for _after_ we've dealt with the sentiences," I said. "Because I have no doubt, I'm going to have to set _Jade_ to that place. And maybe Saphir. They've both been through hell and made it back out with their minds _mostly_ intact. I'm too busy with the Order, same with Reighn."

Dark put a hand on my shoulder. "Kairi...?"

I shook my head. "Nightmare fuel, Dark. Even for me. What I saw down there for the maybe-minute the lights were on was nothing more or less than nightmare fuel."

He shifted, wrapping me up in a hug that... wasn't all that unwelcome. "You know you don't have to bear it alone."

"Oh, it'll be shared around when we come back. Trust me," I muttered, still seeing a little girl with black hair in one of those tubes. I sighed. "Dark... Thank you."

"Someone's gotta hold onto you. Asch isn't exactly here to do it, and if you can't keep it together, how's he supposed to?"

I smiled. "I mean it. Thank you." I shifted slightly, and Dark let go, only to grunt in surprise when I turned to hug him back.

Now feeling at least a _little_ bit better, I turned and walked over to Guy, who was getting an odd look from Fallon every once in a while around the story she was telling to the child.

I put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at me for a moment before offering up a weak smile, but letting his sister's replica go.

I pulled him away a bit, over toward Path and Del. "Hey. Did Fallon get distracted, or...?"

"We came to a decision," Path started.

"Wow. How impressive."

The voice was familiar. So very familiar...

But it wasn't Flick. Couldn't be, because Flick was on Eldrant.

Not to mention... The sheer lack of amusement...

I spun around, Silver Clematis already forming in my hand, and then had to growl rather loudly.

Because there stood Star, who already had her puppets out, and Mohs... who had Hue's sword arm twisted behind his back and a dagger to the man's neck.

"Star. Mohs."

Dark looked about as pleased as I did from where he was standing on Mohs' other side, and Aslan had his rapier drawn already.

I noted Fallon ushering the replicas well away from the elevator area, and glanced at Hue again. He gave me an apologetic look, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Of course. He didn't even have a weapon on him.

"What do you want?" I asked, holding Silver Clematis in a reverse grip, forcibly keeping myself in a relaxed stance. I didn't have a sheath, but I also didn't want to let it settle on my arm again.

"I want the seventh Ion replica," Star said. "Or rather, I want him _dead_. Still..."

"You've meddled in this world's affairs far too much, Miss Balfour," Mohs started. "Or should I even be calling you that, given that you aren't from this world in the first place?"

I hummed and let Silver Clematis go. All the poisoned katana was going to do was make Mohs jumpy. "I was adopted by Nephry. Acknowledged by Jade. And the Clan registers still claim me as Clan Head. I don't think it matters where I started anymore. The only thing that matters... is where I've ended up." I paused and snorted. "I could say the same of you. You screwed yourself over... and for what? The Score?"

"The Score leads to prosperity—"

"The Score leads to _destruction!_ " I shot back. "The seventh fonstone ends with the destruction of Auldrant!"

There was a deafening silence for a long moment. Mohs' grip on the knife in his hand became tighter, and Hue was shooting me an almost-exasperated 'did you have to?' expression.

I crossed my arms. "Don't believe me? There's a replica of the seventh fonstone at Eldrant. Without Van, we can't exactly confirm if it reads exactly the same as the original... but even without reading it, logic dictates that if Yulia read the entire future of the world, and stopped at just _seven_ fonstones..."

Mohs' grip loosened, then tightened. I was very much _relieved_ when he pulled it away from Hue's neck without slitting my lieutenant's throat.

Less relieved when the next thing he did was throw it at me.

With a lot more accuracy than I'd expect of the man. He'd probably spent most of the last few months practicing.

After all, he was technically a wanted man now. And he knew it.

Hue ducked, rolled, and ran over to where one of the replicas was holding a sword a bit awkwardly. Aslan and Guy shifted, closing the gap enough to keep Star and Mohs boxed in.

Star sighed. "Well. This is just going right down the drain."

"Leave!" I ordered, Silver Clematis returning to my hand.

Star scowled. "No. You may have freed Gnome, but you were supposed to _die_! The only body I found in that clearing was Zion's, and then you show up again, when none of the others did. So I think it's about time I fixed that!"

I sighed.

Last time we'd fought Star at full power, she'd been alone, and there'd been more of us.

This time... She had Mohs. Who, from the dagger he'd thrown at me, was actually a viable threat on the battlefield even as a human.

If, for any reason, he ended up being a monster in this messed-up version of the world... I kinda hoped I wouldn't have to fight him.

Unfortunately, before any of us could attack, something blocked out the sun, and I dared to look up, because I'd have sworn...

"Tell me that dragon's friendly," Dark muttered.

I slumped. "I _wish_. Damn it."

Rem shifted, and I let Silver Clematis go, glancing around the top of the tower. We were out in the open up here, with nowhere to hide from the attack Rem was likely about to unleash, and it wasn't like we didn't have enemies right in front of us, too.

I glanced around at the innocent replicas who didn't have a clue what the white creature above us had planned in the few seconds I had left. There had to be something I could do, some way... Something had to happen, _someone_ had to intervene...

My secondary Talent twinged.

With _just_ enough warning.

I raced forward, aiming a Raging Blast at Star and startling her enough that it actually hit. The Demon Fang that hit Mohs and knocked him off his feet for me to launch away with a Guardian Field told me that Hue had gotten the sword he'd been asking for, and I raced away from Star and Mohs. The replicas were all over here...

White fire came down, aimed at us, but the golden-orange glow was already spreading, pulling everyone away from the literal line of fire.

I tapped the consciousness I could feel within that glow and shoved a heartfelt ' _thank you'_ along the channel in the split second it was open.

The light deposited us in one of the lower floors of the Tower of Rem, notably placing all of the unarmed replicas safely within barrier walls, while putting myself, Dark, Aslan, Guy, Hue, Path, Del, and the other few replicas who looked like they could use their weapons with some competence in with the monsters.

You know how you have to deal with the fonic golems and stuff when you're trying to get up and break the glass to get onto the elevator in the game? Yeah, that's where we were.

And unfortunately, Lorelei had dropped me into a room by myself.

There were at least a dozen monsters in here.

I huffed and glanced around for red hair, just as Lorelei finally materialized next to me. "Sorry. Didn't meant to dump you by yourself... Why'd you kick those two away from the others, though?" he asked, looking around at the monsters.

I groaned and summoned both my standard katana and Silver Clematis to my hands as the monsters noticed us. "Lorelei... Star and Mohs are _not_ our allies. So please _gods_ tell me you didn't go back and drop them with any of the others."

He shook his head, summoning up... The Key of Lorelei. I resisted the urge to facepalm. "No. That white fire Rem unleashed? It wouldn't have killed you. It's her strongest type of barrier. If it had hit you, you wouldn't have been able to leave the top of the tower."

"Nice to know," I muttered. "So... Does that mean she hit Mohs and Star?"

"No clue. Didn't stick around long enough to find out."

At which point, the conversation ended, since we were now a bit more busy trying to kill everything off.

It wasn't the first time I'd fought with both swords, but the weight difference was a bit distracting.

It worked, though. I was able to use the regular katana almost as a shield, while Silver Clematis found the monsters and cut through them, either killing them or leaving them poisoned.

Effective, but a bit distracting.

I made a mental note to go find another katana like my standard one at some point, just to try it without the weight difference distracting me.

There was a subtle nudge in the back of my mind, drawing Phaïe's Song to the forefront of my mind, and I groaned.

Well. That was option two.

Phaïe's Song was about the same weight as Silver Clematis was.

But it also turned all my artes either icy or watery. And as someone who was quite fond of fire... that was irritating.

 _Very_ irritating.

Kade seemed to realize that and backed off, though I could tell from the faint disgruntlement I could feel, he wasn't pleased with the idea of me _not_ using Silver Clematis when I was dual-wielding.

Which would have been odd, except that I only used two swords when I desperately needed to. It was my last resort.

I'd pull out Silver Clematis before I pulled out a second sword.

I finished off the last monster in the current room and sighed. I'd have to look into it.

"So."

Uh-oh.

I turned and gave Lorelei a look, and he looked kinda sheepish before frowning. "You... wouldn't happen to have any clue what Gnome's fascination with Dark is, would you?"

I shook my head. "No. But I think Dark does... Why?"

Lorelei looked away. "I don't know. Just... I've _never_ seen or heard him act the way he does around Dark. It's like... like he thinks he can relate more to Dark than any of the rest of us."

I crossed my arms. "Quick question. Were you even born when the Clans sealed your older siblings away?"

Lorelei shook his head. "Not yet. Actually, my first actual memory that's _mine_ , not something I've picked up from who-knows-where, was about a hundred years after the seals were put in place. But if I was close to the monoliths, sometimes I could talk to the sentience sealed within them. The spirits sealing them avoided talking to me, and tried to keep my siblings quiet, but..."

"That's part of why you flinch every time someone mentions Yulia, isn't it?"

Cue flinch... and now he looked guilty. "I..."

"You saw what humans did to the other six and were afraid of being subjected to the same thing," I said. "Yulia didn't have a spirit to bind you like the others, so you ended up in the core."

He nodded. "I... I don't like it. But... Going about things the way Gnome is trying to..." Lorelei shook his head. "Genocide isn't the answer. I don't want to be sealed away again, I don't think any of us do. And I think if we could just sit down and listen, we'd all be able to learn a lot from each other, but..."

I sighed. "Well. We're not solving any problems down here. Whatever Gnome wants with Dark, we'll have to learn later. For now, we need to clear out the monsters and then figure out what to do next."

Lorelei nodded. "Most of the monsters have already been cleared out, I think. Though... Leaving Dark and Del together was probably not my brightest idea."

I didn't want to know. I really didn't want to know. So I settled for stating the obvious.

"Lorelei... You and Sylph are a lot alike. Complete sweethearts, but you're both excessively ditzy."

Which had the desired result of Lorelei looking torn between amusement and sheepishness. I smiled. "So. I'm going up that ladder. Where are you going?"

He glanced at the ladder in question, then looked around the room a bit. Then he shrugged. "Up the ladder behind you, I guess. No reason to be using hyperresonance so much when Rem's still in the area."

I nodded and headed over to the ladder, climbing up it easily and shoving the cover out of my way, only to freeze and growl a few derogatory terms in liger. "More monsters," I warned, pulling myself up quickly and summoning both swords to my hands again.

"Noted," Lorelei muttered behind me as I launched myself into the fight.

This time, once it was over and I started glancing around, I spotted the wheel crank that would open or close a wall somewhere.

After confirming that it would only affect one of the walls boxing in this room and the corresponding wall right below it, I spun the crank around... then had to curse again.

Lorelei sighed. "We're going to be at this for a while."

"Probably. But we might as well clear house and get all the walls opened up. The top of the tower's not safe, now that Rem knows they were up there." I spun into a Guardian Field, then ran over to the next group to unleash a Rising Wind.

"You intend to have the replicas set up a new encampment on these two levels?" Lorelei guessed.

I shrugged and cut through another monster. "Might as well. So... no artes?"

Lorelei didn't answer for a bit.

When he did, it was after we'd finished off the monsters on the current level, or what we could reach of it.

"I... have no idea _how_."

I snorted.

"Don't ask Asch to teach you."

Lorelei chuckled. "I don't think he'd try to cut off my arm."

I fell over laughing.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So... Lorelei knows about the Aramis Spring Incident. O.o_

 _I don't know how he found out, but he did. Apparently._


	45. Chapter 6-7 Part 45

_Whoo! Chapter 6 is done!_

 _This leaves just 4 parts left before 2017 starts... and guess what?_

 _Ya'll are gonna get Part 50 to help usher in the new year! –does a little dance-_

 _I'm hoping my New Year's List is going to actually get mostly done. I've written myself up a list of stories to work on and such... and I've actually put AEtT on there as one to try to finish! (Well, the Main Arcs, at least.) So let's all hope I can achieve that goal, at least..._

 _Given that a couple of my other goals happen to be trying to write 1 million words and finishing at least 26 drawings... yeah. Writing the last 100k or so words that I'm estimating AEtT will need to hit the end of the Main Arcs should be a piece of cake._

* * *

" _Oh! Aren't you one of that Asch boy's friends?" –Henken_

* * *

 **Chapter 6.7 – Radiance of Judgment  
Part 45**

By the time we finally finished clearing out the monsters, Lorelei and I had established three things.

I made for a better teacher than Asch.

Lorelei had the same sense of humor _Luke_ did.

And Del had picked up the art of sarcasm far too quickly.

Something that he and Dark were making sure _everyone_ knew about. Because they were _still_ snarking back and forth at each other three hours after we'd dealt with the monsters.

I was helping to get some of the tents set up again. Path and Fallon were organizing everything else, figuring out who was going to live in what section and where the communal cooking area would be.

Fallon had informed me about half an hour into the whole thing that the women and children would _not_ be going to Eldrant. Given that the replicas seemed to be forming up under their own banner, rather than following Kimlasca, Daath, or Malkuth, I was willing to let this go, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Dark and Aslan had agreed with me, once I'd taken the time to explain my logic to them.

After all, if the replicas kept to themselves, it was less likely that they would be targeted. Rem had probably been after us, or more specifically, _me_ , so it was unlikely that she'd realized the replicas were now just a few floors down...

Well.

A lot of floors down.

There was quite a bit of tower still between the top level and where we were currently.

The two levels Lorelei had relocated everyone to were starting to look like a tiny city, really. Which was an interesting idea. Because this tower was otherwise just sitting here, taking up space, and it was still structurally sound...

Might as well put it to use.

I started looking for the others I had come with, most notably Dark, Hue, and Guy.

I ended up finding Path, Fallon, and Del.

Fallon looked amused.

Path and Del had looks of determination that for one of their originals, would have sent me running to help him, and running _for_ help to fight the other.

"Dare I ask what you boys are up to?" I asked.

"We want to help."

...Somehow, that... didn't surprise me. At all.

I sighed and glanced around. I couldn't find any of the others at the moment. Not even Lorelei. And what I was wanting to do right now was go talk to either Class M or Class I about turning the Tower of Rem into an actual city of sorts.

Hey, Baticul was built almost straight up. It was an idea.

And since the replicas were already here, it made for a good enough place to just let them build their own autonomous little state.

"Well... First thing we'd have to do would be find one of the people I came with so they know where we're going. And then I'm going to go talk to someone about maybe setting up the Tower of Rem as its own city. There's certainly plenty of space, and it was built on top of a miner's city originally," I said. "After that... I don't know. _We_ still have no idea what we're doing with the sentiences."

Fallon hummed. "Still, I have things handled here. And..."

Del gave me an apologetic look. "I'm... honestly still more concerned about the other replicas Mohs created. Enough time has passed that most of us have overcome the restrictive coding Fallon said your brother removed when you saved her after getting rid of the miasma. So while it's less obvious who's a replica and who isn't, I'd like to find the others. From what Fallon's told me, only about half of the replicas we _know_ were created made it to the Tower of Rem before the miasma was destroyed."

I winced, remembering just how many replicas had been on that top floor when Asch and Luke had unleashed their combined hyperresonance.

There was maybe a tenth of that number currently tucked into two levels.

And even though I'd killed dozens of replicas, first in that initial attack, then at the Isle of Feres, and more at Eldrant...

That still left a good few hundred replicas running around. At least.

"Alright. So you're using it as an excuse to run around a little faster and get word out to more replicas. I can respect that, as long as you're willing to pull your weight in a fight," I said. Then I looked over at Path. "What about you?"

"I wanna help _you_. You've gone out of your way to help us, after all, and even now, you were just talking about getting someone to help make the Tower of Rem an actual city. Fallon can't really fight, and Del's got his mission..." Path trailed off and gave me a hopeful look.

Gods... That guy, and Hue, both were so damn _good_ at the whole puppy-dog look.

I sighed. "Alright, you can come." We could always use the extra manpower, I supposed. And with Cantabile soon to be off the lineup, and the chance that others would also be getting kicked off the lineup... Well.

I hated to have to say it, but we could always use someone else on hand to slip into an open spot.

"But I have to let one of the others know where I've run off to first. I intend to come back here later to get them, but..."

Fallon shook her head. "You let me worry about that. If you're taking the Albiore, the others will probably notice and start asking. And anyway, if Rem can tell when Lorelei's teleporting around like that, you probably _shouldn't_ have him take you."

I smiled. "Alright. So, off to Belkend with the three of us?" I asked.

Path and Del nodded, and I headed for the lift I needed that would take me to an access area for the main elevator.

It typically didn't stop on these floors, but I'd spotted those controls while Guy and I had been trying to figure out where the basement was.

I was a bit worried, though. Guy had said some of the replicas had told him about the basement... Did that meant they'd seen what was in it? And if so, then why hadn't they said anything?

Conversely, if they _hadn't_ known, how had they found out about the basement in the first place?

Wondering over things like this wasn't getting me anywhere, so I managed to single-mindedly focus my mind on the task at hand...

I didn't quite make it to the main elevator before Guy caught up.

"Dark and Aslan are helping to get everything sorted, and Hue's fallen asleep," he said. "I... Honestly, I can't stay in this Tower."

And there went my mind, right back to the bodies in the basement.

"I understand that feeling... Might have to hold off on actually turning the tower into its own city until we figure out what the hell was going on down there," I replied.

"Huh? Down where?" Path asked, ever curious.

I winced. "Um... The Tower of Rem has a basement. It's... not... pretty." I winced a second time. "Ugh. That was an understatement. Um... Well. At any rate. I'd like to get that figured out. Though it'll have to wait until after we've figured out what to do about Gnome."

Guy nodded. "Yeah. Suppose so..."

I reached out and grabbed his arm, squeezing for a moment. "Hey. There's nothing we can do except figure out why that mess was down there. There's nothing we could have done for them. If the Energy residue, or complete lack thereof, was any indication... they've been gone for a long time already."

Guy looked over, swallowed, and forced a small smiled. "Thanks, Kairi."

I smiled back, then stopped and tapped the button that would bring the elevator to this floor.

It brought with it a rather concerning sight.

The smoke-stained remains of two large puppets, right at the elevator's exit.

Large enough to have kept Rem's fires from hitting Star and Mohs. And the two of them weren't on the elevator, and it had come from below?

"Star and Mohs left the Tower," I noted, moving to step onto the elevator before freezing and throwing an arm out to stop Path.

Then I knelt, hovering my hand over the elevator, and grimaced. "Yeowch. Rem is _not_ holding back."

"What do you mean?" Guy asked.

I sighed and sat cross-legged. "There's a small safe zone from Star's puppets, but if any one of us had stepped outside of that, it would have locked our Spirit Energies to the elevator. In other words, we'd never be able to leave the Tower. Give me just a few minutes, though. I think I might be able to clean up the mess Rem left behind."

"Huh. Remind me to tell Fallon to not let the other replicas up to the top floor," Del muttered.

I snorted and closed my eyes, slipping onto the second plane.

The elevator _glowed_ on this plane, and it was no wonder. Rem had _saturated_ the damn thing with the sun and earth energies needed to trap Spirit Energies to it.

Cleansing this was going to be a bit of a pain in the ass, but at least I knew how to do it. Unfortunately, given that I didn't want to waste all day working on it...

I pulled back into my body, stepped back a bit, and pulled out my box of chalks. I was glad we were heading to Belkend. I'd have to pick up some more by the time I was done here.

Five white base circles got drawn, simple pentagrams in three, a triquetra in one, and a six-pointed star in the fifth. Then the real 'fun' started with the colored chalks.

"Okay. _Wow_. That's... yikes. That bad?" Guy asked. I grimaced.

"If I don't want to be sitting here for the next ten or so hours? Yeah. That bad." I paused in my work and then looked over my circles again. I had this nagging feeling that I was missing one...

I double-checked my setup, then slipped halfway onto the second plane to look over the mess that was the elevator again.

Oh. Right. _Elevator_. Protection charms.

I'd have smacked myself if I hadn't had hands covered in chalk.

I got back to drawing, putting down the last of the Energy Circles I needed right under the center circle I'd already drawn.

 _That_ one got activated first.

Then the one on the far right. The elevator started to glow on the first plane.

The one on the far left came next, and though the men behind me didn't see this, the sun Energies dispersed with this one.

The last three were activated almost simultaneously, with a wave of my arms that sent hundreds of Energies flying over the elevator's surface.

Once I was done, and the so-to-speak glue pad was gone, I stood up, swaying slightly.

Even with the Energy Circles, I'd exhausted myself.

"Well... Guess it's a good thing you decided to come, Guy... Think I'm gonna spend the flight to Belkend _sleeping_."

Guy sighed, but he sounded more amused than anything else. "Overdid it, huh?"

I smiled. "Hey. Not as bad as I've done in the past." We stepped onto the elevator, and Path tapped the controls to take us back to the ground floor.

I was wary as we dropped, but when the elevator doors opened to reveal an empty space, I was grateful. I really wasn't in the mood to be trying to deal with Star or Mohs right now. After all, I was exhausted, and Star by herself was a pain.

I barely made it to the Albiore before passing out, but at least the elevator was safe again...

Path woke me up when we landed, and though I was still feeling a bit tired, there was nothing for it. I needed to get up and get back to work.

'Work' in this case meaning 'go talk to people'.

Which was also not something I really wanted to do at the moment. I was just plain tired, and not up to dealing with the nonsense that tends to follow humanity around.

Still... It had to be done.

We stepped off the Albiore, and I had to applaud Guy's thoughtfulness. Rather than landing in the open space by the cliff, which was actually much closer to the city, he'd landed in the nearest open space a ways off along the road to the port.

With Gnome on the loose and having already been proven to be willing to drop a cliff into the ocean with Lorelei's vision of Sheridan, that kept the Albiore away from a very dangerous spot.

It meant more walking, but at least we'd still have the Albiore when we came back.

It didn't actually take us very long to get to Belkend, and I noted that the only people I could see moving around at first glance were men. A closer look revealed a few women here and there, but I had the feeling those were the women too stubborn for their own good.

My presence attracted attention. Mostly because the remaining women were keeping their heads down and half-hiding, probably from worried brothers and husbands.

And here I was striding straight for the labs.

First place to look for someone who might have half an idea of what to do about the mess the Tower of Rem was quickly trying to turn into would be Fon Machine Lab I. Or rather, a very specific set of scientists within it.

Spinoza had long since returned to Belkend, and Cathy was definitely in the category of 'elderly'. All three members of Class I should be here, and they could get word to Class M, even if the remaining population of Sheridan had retreated to the Meggiora Highlands.

I was a bit worried about them—after all, Rem's sephiroth was over in that area—but those were some creative people. They'd figure out how to survive her.

We finally made it to the labs, and I walked through them, careful to keep track of where I was. I didn't usually join the boys when they were running around in here, so there was the very real possibility of me getting lost.

Still, we made it back to the lab you usually find Spinoza in when he shows up after the Sheridan incident, and thankfully, all three of them were back there. I smiled at seeing Henken and Cathy again.

I hadn't really thought too much about trying to save them... but here they were, safe and sound.

Well.

As safe and sound as you could get when you were stuck on the ground right now.

Henken was the first one to notice me. "Oh! Aren't you one of that Asch boy's friends?"

I couldn't help it. After everything else that had happened, and finding out that Asch would be the next king... well.

That line had me laughing. Asch wouldn't mind.

I needed it.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Star and Mohs are apparently just too damn stubborn to die. There was supposed to be a fight scene here where we got rid of Mohs._

 _Then Rem intervened._

 _So... Mohs is still alive._

 _Dammit._

 _(And to make things worse, he appears to be trying to work himself into the Future Arcs. Hng...)_


	46. Chapter 7-1 Part 46

_So, I'm running behind. In my defense, I've been trying to get Re:ARitA posted on AO3 while also fielding questions from Vo1dSw0rd, doing dishes, leading my alliance in TF Earth Wars, finishing Part 50, and trying to get through Tales of Xillia so I can tell the plot bunnies to either leave me alone or work with what I actually_ know _._

 _Though, to be honest, I could probably force myself to give up my hour or so of gaming time each night to get some writing done, but... –is torn-_

 _In the meantime, I'm going to post this and see about getting the other chapters posted this week. Good news is, Part 50 is the last one I'm supposed to have posted. Bad news is, it's not fully written yet. (More good news—Ifrit is being a dear and practically writing it by himself now. And the next part after that I get to go bug Dark. And he's good about helping me.)_

 _BTW, this would have been posted hours ago if not for the doc manager glitching. (Fun Fact that has nothing to do with the story: This is the first time I've had to deal with the glitchy doc manager. I've always managed to dodge it in the past.)_

* * *

" _Heh... whoops." –Myre_

" _Kill, no. Castrate, maybe... Cuddle, more than likely. Sync could use another sibling or two to keep him on his toes." –Cantabile_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.1 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 46**

I was bored out of my mind.

Then again, that seemed to be a rather common conundrum for me.

This time, the culprit was a Kimlascan Council meeting. Two weeks after Asch had been named the successor to the throne, and I was being forced to sit in on a meeting as the future queen.

I wasn't sure whether to be irritated or amused when Myre strode straight in, paying no regard to the men who'd been standing on guard, and looked straight over at me. "Need your help. Order of Lorelei business," she said.

I nodded, rose, and held back the smirk. "Apologies, gentlemen. But I'm afraid I have to make the Order of Lorelei my priority."

I wasted no time in leaving, and once we were out of sight of the guards, I turned and wrapped Myre up in a tight hug that left her stiff and apparently speechless. "Thank you! You are a life-saver."

"Um... They kinda _do_ need your help in Daath..."

"And you could have gone to get Cantabile."

"She's pregnant."

"Wait, _what_?!"

Myre and I both went very, _very_ still.

Then Myre got a very familiar look on her face. "Heh... whoops."

I couldn't help it.

I broke down laughing. Because only Cantabile would walk in just in time to hear someone else say that she's pregnant.

Cantabile half-stormed over, grabbing Myre by the shoulder and spinning her around. "You're _not_ talking about me."

I forced down the grin. "She is."

Now that incredulous look was being focused on me. "I'm _not_..."

I shook my head. "Cantabile... Even if Myre weren't a time-traveler, there's a bundle of Energies right below your Energy Core, _exactly_ where your uterus is. You're going on the two-month mark."

Myre glanced over at me. "Pretty damn specific there..."

I shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. Look at Sorylle."

"What the _fuck_ does Sorylle have to do with me being pregnant?! Even if I _were_ , which I'm _not_ —"

"You and Jade didn't even _think_ about protection that night, did you?"

The silence was deafening. Especially since Cantabile was still looking like she was wanting to deny everything.

Except I could see it in the subtle shifts to her expression. That 'oh, _crap_ ' look when she realized they _hadn't_ thought about protection. The slow shift to awe, and the way her eyes drifted to her abdomen. The almost-irritation, and then the traces of fear.

She finally looked up, staring at me with her mouth open, obviously meaning to speak, but unable to find the words.

I offered up a small smile. "Congratulations."

Myre gave me a look like I was crazy, but I meant it whole-heartedly.

Because yeah, it was bad timing, and a bit of idiocy on my brother's part—okay, no, on _both_ their parts, they really should have realized the possible consequences of what they were doing—but it was a _baby_.

I paused as something brushed against the loose field I had up, and I turned to look off to my left.

Jade. Leaning heavily against a pillar and looking about as shell-shocked as Cantabile did.

...Well, there went my bet with Asch.

This thought was followed up by a facepalm, which apparently was enough to snap Cantabile out of her reverie.

"Uh oh. Where'd your thought processes go this time?"

I half-winced, half-smirked. On the one hand, it was funny. On the other hand, it was rather inappropriate at the moment. "Um... Asch and I had a sort-of bet going."

There was a moment of silence as Cantabile simply stared at me, confused. Myre started slipping away, notably leaving me to my own devices, and I had the feeling I might need to run, myself, depending on how quickly Jade reacted.

"Wait a moment. You're telling me _Asch_ knew about this, too?!" Cantabile asked.

I smirked. "Me. Asch. Rialle and Aerith guessed after you had to throw up for the third or fourth day in a row. Myre obviously is from about ten years in the future, so she probably knows more about your unborn child than Asch _wants_ to know... Oh. And Asch was the one to point out the bundle of Energies. So if Dark or Sync saw it and made the connection between its location and your internal organs, they might know."

Cantabile didn't say anything for a long few minutes. "Where is your brother?"

I was about to raise my left arm to point to the man still standing a little ways off, before I paused. "You're not planning on killing him, are you?"

Cantabile gave me a look I recognized oh-so-well from Sync. His signature 'are you a fucking idiot?' look. "Kill, no. Castrate, _maybe_... Cuddle, more than likely. Sync could use another sibling or two to keep him on his toes."

There was a dull 'thump' sound, and I glanced over at Jade.

Whose forehead was pressed against the pillar. I raised an eyebrow. "Um. Don't give yourself a concussion."

"I'm not sure which of you I'm more inclined to smack upside the head right now," Jade informed us. "You, for getting so much of a laugh out of this three weeks ago, or Eve, for... _that_."

I couldn't help it. I broke down in snickers, and Cantabile did her best to feign indignation.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Hahaha... Yeah... Definitely Sync's mother.

I grinned. "Whatever you say, Cantabile. Whatever you say... Now I'm going to go find Myre and see what she was grabbing me out of that meeting for. Goodness, we got sidetracked quickly..."

I walked off before either Cantabile or Jade could argue, though I'd have sworn I saw Jade thump his head against the pillar again. So... "You should really quit doing that. Asch certainly doesn't want to raise the kid."

Judging from Cantabile's laughter, Jade had reacted comically.

I just grinned to myself and let my field spread out some more so I could maybe find Myre a little more quickly.

Once I found her mind, I followed it as best I could, and was mildly surprised to find her in the same temple where I'd seen her with Selenia that day I'd realized Cantabile was pregnant.

She was standing in front of what was supposed to be an altar.

"You know... None of the three of us is really all that religious," I stated quietly.

Myre glanced over her shoulder before looking at the altar again. "This... this was our home. Ours, and Guy and Noelle. But then Noelle got blasted out of the air by Ifrit, and Guy..." She stopped and sighed. "Guy was never the same. Nor was I."

I walked over and put an arm around her shoulders. "We've still got time to make things right," I said. "Now. What was the Order of Lorelei thing I was needed for, since Cantabile is now officially out of commission whether she likes it or not?"

Myre smiled slightly to herself. "I remember the way she acted when Thys was born. It was weird... I'd never seen her smiling like that before..." She shook her head. "Anyway, Daath. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing... Put simply, there's hellhounds running everywhere. They're not hurting the citizens, in fact they're outright avoiding them, but some of those people are starting to get worried."

I crossed my arms. "Do you think maybe Ifrit's using Rem's sunburst crystal against her? After all, light is linked to fire and wind, and while Sylph is more than happy to guard Eldrant from the air, and apparently against Rem, since we now know she _can_ get airborne in her dragon form, she's doing her best to stay neutral." Myre shrugged, and I hummed as I contemplated this news. Myre was right. Someone needed to go and say something to get the people calmed down, but... "Wouldn't Solace make for a better choice?"

Myre grimaced. "Um. Yes and no. Yes, he'd help for getting the citizens calmed down, but part of the problem is the fact that the Oracle Knights are currently trying to drive the hellhounds off."

Ah.

"Okay. Well. Whenever you're ready." Myre blinked at me, and I shrugged. "Hey, I'm telepathic, not a teleporter."

She rolled her eyes, and a moment later, a small circle appeared around our feet.

When we landed in the cathedral, it was to the great surprise of Maestro Tritheim, and the other Maestros who'd been convened in there. I crossed my arms. "Morning, gentlemen."

"Ah, Major Kairi. I assume you've heard about the hellhounds menacing us?" one of the men who I _knew_ had supported Mohs asked.

I hummed. "From what I've been told, it doesn't sound like menacing. I'm going to go walk around a bit. See if you can't get the remainder of the Order rounded up in the meantime."

"And you're giving orders because...?"

I scowled at the man who'd spoken, who wasn't even a Maestro. "The Fon Master is busy finalizing Asch fon Fabre's right to succession with the Kimlascan Council, Asch himself is obviously preoccupied, and the Commandant has been found to be pregnant. Given the current state of emergency, that officially leaves me as the highest-ranking officer on the military side of things, and last I checked, Maestro Tritheim and Teodoro Grants were still the next highest on the civilian side behind the Fon Master," I said. "If you have problems with me giving orders, you'll have to take it up with someone _after_ this mess is dealt with."

Well.

 _That_ shut the man up.

I turned and strode out of the cathedral, Myre hesitating before running after me.

"So... I'd originally meant to just go back to my research, except for two things. You'd probably come to Tataroo Valley just to kill me for leaving you with no transportation out of Daath, and I have a question that's been bothering me since you first took the position with the Order of Lorelei," she started.

I couldn't quite hold back the snicker. "Are you talking about how I go from completely immature to commander mode with zero warning?" I asked. She nodded.

"How?! I mean, I always see you doing it, no matter _where_ you are, and it's _always_ baffled me, but it got worse after you joined the Order." I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when I heard the tone in Myre's voice.

Twenty-four years old... and she still sounded just as incredulous when talking about my craziness as her fourteen-year-old self did.

I hummed. "I honestly don't know the specifics. I just... It's easy for me to flip between personalities, or more correctly, personality facets. Dear gods I want my sunglasses... Um, anyway, I think it's partly because I enjoy writing fiction. So since I have to jump between character points of view, I can flip from my normal 'causing chaos' mode to 'commander' mode really fast."

Myre hummed. "I see. So it's less a case of a personality change and just some really extreme subconscious compartmentalization?"

I snorted. "Yeah. Something like that."

"What?"

"Nothing, Myre. Nothing." I paused, having spotted a hellhound, and walked over toward it. The monster was laying on its side, obviously sunbathing like any dog would, and I was reminded of my dogs back on Earth.

One in particular.

"Looks like Pogo."

"Huh?"

Oh goody. I'd confused Myre again.

I knelt next to the monster, and it stirred, looking up at me with fiery red eyes that, if Ifrit hadn't chosen to help us, would likely have just been one more thing haunting my nightmares. "Hey there. You're looking exceptionally lazy this morning."

The hellhound gave me an unamused look, then yawned, settled down, and apparently went back to its nap. I snorted, stood, and moved on to find another one.

Myre looked exasperated. "'Exceptionally lazy' indeed."

I shrugged. "Hey, I don't know what it's been doing. For all I know it could have been patrolling for the last eight hours or some shittin' thing."

"Funny part is, ya go' that right on tha firs' try."

I stopped, turned, and smiled. "Ah. Looking after Daath for us?"

Ifrit smiled and gestured to the smoke coming from Mt. Zaleho. "Mah home's righ' next door. Might as well." He frowned and squinted up at the sunburst crystal. "Ain't figured out how ta get rid o' _that_ , though."

I shrugged. "Anything is better than nothing. So then Myre and I were right, and hellhounds really aren't up to anything malicious."

"Yea. Ah can't be here all the time, an' they ain't got nothin' betta ta do."

I smiled. "Good. You mind coming with me to let the Order of Lorelei officials know?"

Ifrit grunted. "What ah wanna know is how Lorelei got a whole religion named afta 'im."

I rolled my eyes. "Uh, blame Yulia. Lorelei was trapped in the core by the time _that_ happened."

"Still seems a bit silly ta me."

I hummed and actually took a moment to think about it.

A moment was usually all I needed. "You're going to tell me it's not a good choice, though? The seventh fonon is the fonon of _sound_ , of _memory_." I looked up at the cathedral, shielding my eyes from the light of the sunburst crystal up above. "We need to remember. Not just what's happened recently with Van and the replicas and the Council and this _mess_. Further back. Yulia, the Planet Storm, the passage rings, the miasma, the Clans..."

"And the reason why the sentiences were sealed away in the first place," Myre murmured, realizing where I was going.

I nodded. "Look at the past, at the mistakes, _remember_ those mistakes, and keep them from being made in the future."

It was quiet for a bit before Ifrit chuckled. "Heh. When ya put it like that... Ah kinda hafta agree."

I hummed. "Come on. For right now, we need to explain things to the Order members still in town so they can keep the citizens calm. It's nice that you're helping out and all, but the little humans really do need to know what you're doing. They're not used to having _this_ many monsters running around inside the town walls. Arietta typically kept her friends out in the forest."

Ifrit looked almost hurt for a moment before he glanced at my face, realized I was teasing him, and grinned.

The arm he slung around my shoulders was pleasantly warm, and by pleasant, I mean a good ten degrees warmer than a human's arm would be. Since I have a distinct hatred for the cold, this bothered me not at all.

"Ya know... Ah think you an' ah are gonna get ta be good friends."

I snorted. "Wait until you actually get a chance to talk to Sync. Between the three of us, we'd probably have all three countries after our heads within a day."

Myre muttered something about idiots and chaos, and Ifrit laughed.

"Hey..."

Ifrit paused and glanced at Myre. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering..."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I cut the conversation off there, but for those of you wondering, this is about where Myre asks Ifrit about his opinions on humans, mostly due to the conversation we saw at the end of the very first part. It's a fairly short conversation, and Ifrit's more than happy to chat our ears (eyes?) off in just a few more parts, anyway._


	47. Chapter 7-2 Part 47

_And this chapter is going to leave us with a much happier Kairi._

 _Now if only I could just get everything posted already. Tea's gone and thrown herself back into prepping chapters for posting again, which means she sent them to me. (A second time, in most of the cases.)_

* * *

" _Well... If you call a five year old kid who's supposed to save the world in about twelve years finding and practically adopting him 'trouble,' he's already in it." –Kairi_

" _You know, if you're just gonna keep falling over, you might as well stay down there." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.2 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 47**

Myre dropped me off in the same temple she'd taken me from and then left again, presumably returning to Tataroo Valley. I didn't ask, and she hadn't said, but I knew that she was searching the Archives for something.

What, I wasn't sure, and I hadn't thought to ask her about it.

I ended up meandering around aimlessly, trying to figure out something to do that didn't involve returning to the same boring meeting I'd left from.

My 'something to do' ended up being getting dragged off by Ryndor.

He didn't say anything, just grabbed my arm and pulled me off to a nook that I could tell, from the various knickknacks and other things laying around, was his current living space.

If it weren't for the fact that I knew his home at the Rugnican Archives was more than likely demolished now, I'd have wondered what he was doing here. Besides, Rhunön's replica research was definitely useful.

"Yes?"

Ryndor walked over to a shelf and pulled a little box off of it. "Here. I... I took this before we ever got to the Monolith. I didn't think Zion would be too impressed with it, at least, and... well." He held the box out. "It seemed like it was rather important."

I blinked, took the box, and opened it warily.

What I found inside... was the very item I'd been so desperately trying to find since returning to Auldrant.

"Asch's promise ring..."

"Is that what it is?" Ryndor asked absentmindedly. "Hm. What do the markings on the inside mean?"

"Two worlds, one love," I murmured, half-tracing the runes even as I spoke the words.

I pulled my glove off and put the ring back on where it belonged, happy to have it back at last. "You said you pulled it off before we got to the monolith?"

"I was afraid it was an engagement ring. Zion... you know you were never meant to actually _live_ on Auldrant. While I personally could care less... Zion would have thrown a fit. I don't want to know what he would have done had he seen it. I'm glad he didn't," Ryndor said. He stopped wandering around, idly picking things up, and just sat the plant he'd picked up onto a bookshelf. "Kairi... I don't know if your false body will be strong enough to last you a lifetime. That's... I might understand the... Energies... better than any Auldrant native you haven't taught, but I've compared what I know to what Jade's learned... And realized that I know almost nothing."

He turned around to face me. "I have no problems with you staying after the sentiences are defeated, but..."

I held up a hand. "Ryndor... You're right. The only thing you need to know about Doppelgangers is... with time, the false Energy Core in the original body and the false body around the original Energy Core... they become solid. More... _whole_." I shook my head. "Given about five Auldrant years, this body will be just as sturdy as my body on Earth. Still connected, still two halves of a whole... but two whole halves, if that makes any sense."

Ryndor chuckled. "I think I get the point. Which... kind of leads to the next thing I wanted to ask you. I've heard bits and pieces from the others... Danté..."

"Safe on Aselia, or rather, Sylvarant... Gods, explaining _that_ mess in full would take me hours," I said, grumbling through the second half. "Long story short, Aselia is currently split into two 'worlds', Sylvarant, where Danté is, and Tethe'alla."

"Safe, you said? Heh, he's an assassin, and a Daemione at that, even if he was born a Darigan," Ryndor replied. "Knowing him, he'll be in some form of trouble in no time."

I smirked. "Well... If you call a five year old kid who's supposed to save the world in about twelve years finding and practically adopting him 'trouble,' he's already in it."

Ryndor got a blank look on his face.

Then, much to my surprise, the normally-stoic redhead broke down into near-hysterical laughter. "You're joking... please tell me you're joking."

"Nope. Not in the least."

It took him about ten minutes to recover from his laughter, and once he was done, he rolled over, pushed himself to his knees, and just sat there, still grinning like a loon. "And how'd he take that...?"

I hummed. "Well, not one hundred percent sure. Last I was aware, he was relieving Noishe, the boy's... er... Well, Noishe is a protozoan, but apparently the language he speaks is close enough to the liger language for them to talk, so... Yeah. Noishe is getting to gossip for the first time in a long time. Danté's got it fairly easy. He already told Noishe he was from another world, so Noishe is teaching him everything he needs to know... Lloyd, honestly, is just being a way-too-optimistic little kid trying to keep Danté around."

I paused and crossed my arms. "I don't know much else, though. My connection with Doppel got broken the moment I was brought back to Auldrant, and I don't _dare_ jump back even for a moment until Rem is dealt with. _Doppel's_ the one who's able to keep tabs, not only on Danté, but on some of the other people here on Auldrant."

Ryndor frowned. "Jade didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

The man was quiet for a few moments, apparently not quite willing to speak just yet. However, when he did finally speak, it wasn't at all what I was expecting him to say.

"I'm the one that pulled you back... and brought you here in the first place."

I was quiet for a long time as I digested this. Ryndor had been the reason I'd landed in Keterburg? He'd pulled my Energy Core straight out of my body on Earth... but... how? How was that...

I paused as the answer hit me right over the head.

Ryndor had more Spirit Energies that I did.

Of _course_ he'd have at least one Talent.

Which actually made me wonder if he had a second one.

I decided not to ask, because there was no telling what I'd find out, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I was still trying to work this out when Ryndor suddenly frowned, stood, and stepped over so he was right in front of me. "What did you mean... the kid was going to save the world in about twelve years?"

I looked up at him, mind going blank for a long few minutes before I smacked myself.

I really, really needed to watch what I was saying.

"Um. That's another long story. But one that you're probably not going to let me walk away without telling."

"You would be correct."

I sighed. "I think... when I was strung up to the monolith... I heard Zion say something about there being others..."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Did any of them recognize Zion?"

There was a long moment of silence, before Ryndor took a deep breath. "Yes. One. Two..."

"Tributes?" I offered, unable to come up with a better word. Ryndor grimaced.

"Yes. Two... tributes before you. A young man, maybe a couple years older than you. He recognized Zion, at least as Ion. He seemed confused by the rest of us... except he kept looking at Seth, almost like he recognized _him_ as well."

"Because Seth is Jade's replica..." I muttered. "Then he's another one familiar with Tales of the Abyss."

"Tales of the Abyss?"

I nodded.

"You've mentioned that before. Multiple times."

"It's also one of the passwords to the passage ring controls. The question 'What is the game of truth?'" I replied. "Tales of the Abyss, is... well. A game. On Earth, we have these machines that allow us to play games on screens... one of those games, Tales of the Abyss... is about Auldrant. The events of the last year, to be a little more specific."

Ryndor was quiet. "So... You knew..."

"I knew about the Score. About Luke and Asch, about Jade's past with fomicry, about Van's plan, about the passage rings and the miasma and the Planet Storm... but I've found that a lot of my knowledge, knowledge gained from that game, has holes in it," I replied. "Dark. Reighn. Selenia. The entire Council. The Clans mess. Cantabile was mentioned in a book you can look at in the library in Daath, but she never actually showed up in the game."

Ryndor hummed. "Makes you wonder why."

I shrugged. "When I first landed, the day after, actually, I was fighting a glasruda. Dark, though I didn't know his name at the time, mocked me for fighting on my own. Later that night, I overheard Cantabile and Sync talking. Cantabile was there to hire Dark to assassinate Mohs... or rather, there to send him into a trap. Sync went up to Mt. Roneal... and got caught in an avalanche." I stopped and crossed my arms. "I had Koran with me my third day on Auldrant. We unburied Sync, stopped back at Dark's... calling that place a cabin is generous, honestly... and then brought Sync back to Keterburg. If Cantabile had had to make the trek to Mt. Roneal and then dig him out herself..."

"She likely would have died. Dark would have gone to Daath. Then what?"

"Dark survived Daath because Sync hesitated to capture him. He mentioned me, and since I'd unburied Sync..."

Ryndor nodded. "I see... So your presence started changing things almost immediately... I'm going to guess the mess you made by pulling Asch and Sync out of Daath was why the Council had to step out of the shadows. After all, our only job was to free the sentiences, so..."

I nodded. "It would have been totally possible for the game events to happen as they'd happened in the game if I'd never met Dark. Or rather, if I hadn't landed in Keterburg. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time."

Ryndor looked amused. "Dare I ask how badly you've screwed up the game events?"

I shrugged. "Well, let's see. Cantabile's alive. Sync's alive, and actually has some sense of self beyond considering himself a piece of meat. Solace is alive. And a fighter. Asch is alive. Mohs is alive and un-mutated, though that's more a nuisance than a help. Um... Van actually died at the Absorption Gate instead of just falling into the core and absorbing Lorelei. Let's see... Arietta didn't fight Anise to the death. Hm..."

"Good grief," Ryndor muttered.

"Oh, Largo's alive, and more than happy to consider Natalia his daughter," I added.

"I get the point. It's really fucked up."

I snickered. "And to think, Danté landed a full twelve years before the events of Tales of Symphonia start."

There was a moment of silence, before Ryndor raised an eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"What?"

"You got pulled into what you perceive as a game, and then dumped Danté into _another_ game?"

I shrugged. "Not intentionally. I was actually just trying to send him somewhere safe. I just wanted him to survive the night. I have no idea how he ended up on Aselia, just that he did, and woke up to a five-year-old boy saying 'Hey, hey mister? Are you okay?'"

Ryndor doubled over laughing again. "Wait, seriously?!"

"Yeah. Danté's reply was 'No, brat, I'm not.'"

Ryndor fell over from laughing so hard, and I crossed my arms and gave him an amused look. "You know, if you're just gonna keep falling over, you might as well stay down there."

I heard chuckling from behind me, and glanced over my shoulder. Dark.

"Dare I ask what you said to get this started?"

I shrugged. "He was asking about what happened to Danté. I kinda slipped and mentioned something, so had to tell him about Tales of the Abyss, which led to explaining Tales of Symphonia... which is where Danté is. Except about twelve years before the game events start."

Dark shook his head. "Yeah. That sounds like a slip-up you'd make." He crossed his arms. "But I highly doubt that was what got him laughing."

I shrugged. "I just told him what Danté said to the kid standing over him when he woke up."

Ryndor finally got his laughter under control. "Oh, heavens... that kid is definitely mine, whether he acknowledges it or not..."

Dark chuckled. "Love you too, old man."

Ryndor made a very familiar gun-shape with his fingers and pointed at Dark before half-frowning and lowering his hand. "I'm too lazy to shoot you."

I rolled my eyes. "You boys have fun. I need to go talk to Asch." Because I had his promise ring back now, and I needed to let him know.

He may have prioritized me over it, but it was important to _me_ , and I knew he had realized that.

"Hey, Kairi..."

I stopped in the doorway and looked back at Ryndor, before smiling. "We get Rem dealt with enough for me to risk slipping back to my body for a few hours, I'll let you know how he's doing. If I know Doppel, she's keeping a _very_ close eye on him, if for no other reason than because watching him deal with Noishe and Lloyd is hilarious."

Ryndor smiled. "Thank you."

I nodded and left, following the familiar beacon of Asch' mind as I tried to find my boyfriend... my fiancé? Was it official yet? Hell, I didn't know. It was so hard to tell with this political nonsense sometimes, and I had to wonder if Duke Fabre and Jade—because they were the two who would have to arrange most of it—were planning to finish with it any time soon. After all, Asch was to be the king, now...

I was about halfway to Asch when I felt two other familiar minds and had to stop and listen. Because that was Jade and Cantabile, and not at all where I had left them a few hours ago...

"Eve... I'd actually mean to ask you sooner," Jade was saying. He sighed. "Honestly, this feels like bad timing now..."

I heard Cantabile sigh, an amused sound that spoke highly of fond exasperation with the man standing next to her.

"Evelyn Osborne... Will you marry me?"

I couldn't help it. The urge to hold my breath was irresistible.

It seemed to me like the whole world was silent, waiting for the answer...

"...Heh. Are you gonna kiss me or not?"

The smile spread slowly, and it wasn't the usual teasing smirk when I'd hear a line like that. Because a part of me knew...

That was exactly how Cantabile and Jade had ended up sharing a bed that night in Chesedonia.

I walked away, happily humming a tune, letting the words flow softly as I walked along. _"Are you gonna kiss me or not? Are we gonna do this or what?~"_

Yeah.

It'd work.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So now we know where the promise ring went. Also, Ryndor is easily amused. (And I really need to get back to work on ADL...)_

 _On another note... I've had the mental image of that last scene in my head for ages. Practically since the first time I heard that song. I don't know why, it just seemed like a very_ Cantabile _approach to moving along a relationship. To this day, I can't hear that song without three scenes popping into my head: Jade and Cantabile in Chesedonia the night before Jade left for Eldrant, this scene right here, and Kairi and Sync singing this song for them at their wedding. (The baffled/amazed/amused looks Jade and Cantabile are wearing in that last one never fail to get me smiling.)_


	48. Chapter 7-3 Part 48

_And here's Part 48._

 _I have a job interview later this morning. (Wish me luck!) Which is part of why I'm posting stuff at obnoxious o'clock. (Though as it's 4:45 as I write this and my alarms go off at 4:15, it's less obnoxious o'clock now than it was when Part 47 got posted.) Had to get up early and take a really good bath. Also, early start is always good. Gets me fully awake faster._

 _Moving on... I've almost finished Part 50. (Good thing, too, as I'm rapidly running out of chapters and need to start on 51 for Friday...)  
_

 _And if it's not obvious, I'm basically posting these as I finish prepping them. So yeah. You'll probably get Part 50 either later today or tomorrow. (Or maybe even later this morning, depending on how quickly I finish...)_

* * *

" _It's not you, sweetie. Guy's still getting over his gynophobia." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.3 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 48**

Shadow caught up to me a few days later, and pulled me through the nearest shadows before even saying 'hello'.

Which was a bit of a pain in the ass, to be honest.

I shot a glare in his direction when we emerged, and he pointed.

When I spotted the white crystal shards laying around, I realized just where we were.

"Oh... Oh boy."

So, this was Yda's monolith... or at least its remains.

I wandered through the destruction, noting that Shadow stayed well away from all of it if he could, and finally found the epicenter of the mess under what had once been a tall, strong oak tree. It had been destroyed and toppled by the shattering monolith, which saddened me, but there was nothing I could do for it.

I knelt and pressed my hand to the largest remaining piece of crystal.

A presence brushed against my mind, soft, gentle... I pressed against it. _'Yda?'_

' _Hm...? Ah, you're here for the shard...'_

A gentle tugging feeling started up, and sent along a vague sense of gratitude before standing and moving toward the remains of the dead tree's trunk. The piece Yda wanted me to take was embedded within its trunk.

It took me a moment to find it, and a few more minutes to get it freed.

This one was long and thin, comparatively. A good size and shape for a mace... Well, actually a bit large even for that.

I got the vague sense that I didn't need to worry about that, and I wasn't sure where the sense came from. Had it been Kade, whose presence I was getting used to in the back of my mind?

Or Yda, whose monolith I carried a shard of?

I didn't know. And what was perhaps the most frustrating part was the fact that I'd likely never find out. It would bother me for ages.

Or at least, would bother me for the next few hours. I knew I wouldn't remember it come tomorrow morning.

Shadow was looking very much antsy by the time I got over to him, and he didn't say anything when I approached. We were simply enveloped by shadows again.

This time, we appeared in what was obviously the Meggiora Highlands, and I laid the white crystal shard on the ground before heading off to find the epicenter of the dark violet crystal explosion that I could already see the effects of.

It took me a bit longer this time.

A lot of the crystal had ricocheted, so there was some stuck in the rock here, but there were scuff marks too, and crystal laying over there... it was all a mess.

But it painted a clear enough map for me to follow it to a large chunk simply sitting in the middle of a clearing.

I walked up to it and placed my hand to it, feeling the very much active spirit within practically jumping for joy. _'You're here!'_

I smiled and nodded. _'Yes.'_

Havaam didn't say anything more, just shoved a feeling at me, and I pulled my hand away, stood and headed off to find the piece of crystal he'd chosen. It didn't take me very long. This one was simply laying out in the middle of a space.

Like with Yda's, it was long and thin. Longer, actually...

I could see it becoming a good spear, or perhaps a glaive for Aerith. After all, she had a preference for water artes, and the first fonon was linked to the fourth.

I got a vague impression of amusement as I picked it up and took it back to Shadow, who was patiently waiting again, and finally starting to calm down again.

I picked up the white shard, and then the darkness overtook my eyes again.

When we reappeared, we were in the same temple Myre always used, and I noted that the other three shards, and Guy, were already here.

I hummed. "I'm guessing we need to do some weapon-shuffling again?" I asked. Shadow nodded.

"Yes. For one thing, though he likely hasn't said as much to you, Kade's having trouble keeping hold of the Black Rose daggers without completely re-assimilating them. They need to be handed off to someone else."

I considered our options. "Rialle. She should be able to adapt to them fairly well."

"Also... Whatever you did to shape Phaïe's Song has made it impossible for Phaïe to change its shape. The other five spirits will be able to work with their own crystals to change the shape," Shadow said. "So you need to figure out who's going to get each weapon, so they can do it accordingly."

I nodded. "Noted. Anything else?"

"You need to take Phaïe's Song back before she throws a fit. She really doesn't like that you've handed it off to Guy, so I'm thinking that one will have to stay within your Clan," Shadow said. "The other option would be handing it off to Cantabile, as she'll be marrying into your Clan."

I crossed my arms. "Noted, but... Well, whatever. We'll have to work it out later, I guess."

Shadow noted my scowl. "You really don't like the elemental shift, do you?"

"No, I don't. I like my fire. It's kinda hard to live up to the nickname 'Blue Flame Fonist' if I can't cast the blue flames I'm infamous for."

He looked apologetic. "You'll have to take that up with Phaïe, then."

I hummed. "I'd say give it to Cantabile, since she tends to like ice, but then, Cantabile is pregnant and will have to stay at Eldrant, which should be safe, and Phaïe's Song would be more help elsewhere... Though, with Ifrit on our side, I suppose it wouldn't matter..."

"There's also the fact that you're capable of dual-wielding," Shadow noted. "See if Phaïe can't control the elemental influence her shard has while it's simply resting in its deconstructed form on your arm. Then you can simply use it when you're dual-wielding."

...Yes, that might work, if Phaïe could control it like that. Part of what had driven me to give it to Guy was the fact that even when simply resting on my arm, it had been warping all of my artes.

"Anything else?"

Shadow paused, then grimaced. "You... need to talk to Myre. Selenia will, more than likely, want to use Syal's shard, because of the elemental strength against Gnome, who holds Sync captive. That will leave Gray Larkspur without someone to wield it... unless Myre is willing to take it up again. I don't know the details, but... I'm fairly certain she threw it away at one point, in her timeline, and though neither Lorelei nor Kade will tell me the details, she and Kade are having a bit of a feud over it. Seeing as how Gray Larkspur simply refuses to rest in her hands."

I grimaced. "Never the easy stuff... Alright. It'll probably take me a few hours to work everything out."

"One last thing before we part. Once all six weapons have been shaped, the spirits will be able to talk you through summoning them. If you're going to keep Phaïe, you'll temporarily have two summoning contracts. Keep in mind that summoning Kade works similarly... or it's supposed to."

I chuckled. "I'm gonna guess you're talking about the fight with Rem a few weeks ago."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Humans. I'm never going to understand you."

I snorted. "You sure it's not just the fact that I'm female?"

Shadow settled for giving me the stink eye and then vanishing into a burst of shadows.

I looked over at Guy next. "You've been rather quiet over there."

He shook his head at me. "You just love playing with people's minds, don't you?"

I shrugged. "Hey, it's always fun to watch them squirm. Anyway, you got any ideas?"

He hummed. "That'll depend. I know you've been known to dual-wield once in a while, but... You don't do it _that_ often, and I know that even before you handed it off to me, with Phaïe's Song on your arm, your artes were getting warped. Are there any specific instances where you know you're more likely to dual-wield?"

I closed my eyes. "The ligers, the replicas... When we're outnumbered, injured, and I need to do more damage, faster... _That_ is when I pull out the second blade. It leaves me covered in blood, but it also leaves a damn high body count behind. Which, in a battle like that..."

"Is kinda the point. Alright... Did you have any forewarning in either case?"

"Ligers, yes. Luring the feral Southern Clan into the valley for an ambush was the whole point, even though we _knew_ we were outnumbered. But the replicas..." I shook my head. "I'd forgotten that they attacked Frings in Northern Chesedonia in the game. Ari took his place, but it was similar circumstances, same story. A training exercise, interrupted by replicas, most of whom were poorly equipped, though they carried the banner of Kimlasca."

I crossed my arms and thought a little more about our current situation. As things were, the greatest threat was simply _strong_ monsters, not the large groups I preferred when I was swinging around two swords. And... Even with Sylph protecting Eldrant, if Rem managed to slip a few monsters past her...

"I'll leave Phaïe's Song with Cantabile," I decided. "I highly doubt I'll need to dual-wield much. There's no reason for me to let it lay around uselessly. Besides, Cantabile's only a couple months in. She'll probably be joining the military in continuing to clean out the monster nests in the citadel around the replicated Hod."

Guy nodded. "True. This _is_ Cantabile we're talking about. So... you want me to go give her Phaïe's Song now, while you go find Myre?"

"She's at Tataroo Valley. And while Gray Larkspur can't just lay around forever, I don't think we should hold off too long on getting these weapons dealt with," I said. Then I sighed. "And, if worse comes to worst, Flick knows how to use an axe. It may not be her favorite weapon, but at least if she's carrying it, that gives her something for short-range until she can hand it off to Myre."

Guy nodded. "Alright. Any ideas on who you want to give the other weapons to? Shadow already said Selenia would want Syal's, and I'm sure he's right."

"You and me, both, Guy. So Selenia... I'm thinking Hue. He's probably going to stick quite close for a while, and with Cantabile unable to leave Eldrant, we could use his sword... Aerith would be another one. Reighn has Gold Wisteria, but he's, well..." I gave Guy a pointed look, and he nodded. "Anise and Tear were another two I was considering. Anise's Genius Wand amplifies her artes pretty well, but it's no good for melee, and I think she's really getting sick of having to carry both the Genius Wand and her old mace around just so she can pull something out to whack enemies with when they surprise her."

Guy outright chuckled at that. "So that's Cantabile, Selenia, Anise, Aerith, Hue, and you said Tear?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Her current staff is good for healing artes, but not much else. And while she typically does get relegated to doing almost nothing but healing..."

"Good point."

"You may want to make sure she gets Yda's shard, if that's the case."

Guy yelped and scrambled away from the three-foot-tall fairy girl behind him, and I snickered. Sylph managed to rather comically droop mid-air, and I walked over and hugged her. Because she just looked like she needed a hug. "It's not you, sweetie. Guy's still getting over his gynophobia."

"Bless you."

I snorted. "Gynophobia is the fear of women."

"Ooh..."

Guy sighed, and I glanced over, realizing rather suddenly that Sylph was clinging to me like any child would, wings hanging limply. "So... Tear gets Yda's. Selenia gets Syal's... Any other ideas?"

"Aerith should get Havaam's. Since Phaïe's Song is stuck as a sword, and we all know how much the Aurelius Clan loves their fourth-fonon artes..." I started. Guy winced.

"Yeah... With Phaïe's shard out of the question, Havaam's would be the next best."

"So... who ya gonna give Alvess' to?" Sylph asked, looking perfectly content to just stay in my arms. And, to be honest, she wasn't heavy, so I really didn't mind having her there.

I looked over at the shard in question, then glanced at Myno's... which was smaller. I frowned and walked over to the gold shard, placing my hand against it and mentally shoving.

Alvess prodded back curiously.

' _Is there enough crystal here to form both a shield and a sword?'_ I asked.

There was a moment's pause, before the two items in question appeared in my mind, then were placed on my person as an indication of size.

I smiled. That would work perfectly. "Hue. Hue will get Alvess' shard... shards, I suppose. We'll give Anise Myno's," I replied. Hue would appreciate having a shield again.

I knew he usually fought with one, given the chance, but since the Oracle Knights only issued armor and swords, and typically not _shields_ , he'd been forced to go without, except when undercover as a civilian.

I walked back to where Guy was standing at the entrance still, Sylph having allowed me to shift her over to my left hip a little bit.

Normally, I'd have shifted her to my right, but my knee was starting to hurt a bit, a grim reminder of just another less-obvious scar I'd carry for the rest of my life...

Guy looked amused. "You gonna let her go any time soon?" he asked, though it wasn't exactly apparent which of the two of us he was speaking to.

Sylph and I looked at each other, Sylph looking a little sad, and I shrugged. "I don't mind carrying you around. Honestly, your back's probably hurting from all the flying you've been doing, isn't it?"

She was quiet for a moment, staring at me in wonder, before she nodded. "Yeah... Gnome taught me this trick he learned for solidifying us into solid forms that aren't our base forms. Problem is, undoing it means I have to remember every detail to reform the same way again, and... My memory for stuff like that isn't the greatest. So I was sealed away like this, and was still in this form when I was unsealed... And... I think I might be _stuck_."

I sighed. "I take it back. It's not just Lorelei, Asch, and Luke."

Guy looked totally baffled for a moment before he facepalmed. "Good grief... I'm gonna go find Cantabile."

"If she and Jade are busy, leave them be and come back later," I called after his retreating back.

He didn't even pause, simply raised a hand in acknowledgement, and I had to wonder if he'd really acknowledged it, or if he'd even realized what I'd just implied.

Sylph giggled.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Lorelei remembers bits and pieces of the future Myre knew. His future self has hidden the rest from him._

 _Kade, who has an odd sort of symbiosis with Lorelei, also remembers Myre's future, and his future self was_ not _so kind as to hide those memories from his past self._

 _So Kade and Myre are feuding over something. (We'll find out what later.)_


	49. Chapter 7-4 Part 49

_So as of today, Part 51 is due._

 _Good news is, Part 51 is written and done._

 _Bad news is, I have no control over my characters. (Which is nothing new.) Thankfully, I'm about 100 words away from finishing Part 52, and then maybe I can get everybody back on track. (Because Kairi and Dark decided to derail us for a chapter.)_

 _Maybe._

 _If I'm lucky._

 _Anyway, something rather important happens in this chapter. A few somethings, if I'm being honest. Three, to be precise. Anyone want to try to guess what three things those are? There's a rather major hint to one of them in the Fun Fact at the bottom._

 _In the meantime, enjoy! (I'm catching up, I swear!)_

* * *

"And how much of you do you _lose_ hiding like that?" _–Asch_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.4 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 49**

It took two hours to find everyone and get them into the correct building.

Another hour for all five of the unshaped shards to take their forms.

As predicted, Anise and Tear were pleased with the upgrades that helped to cover the holes in their defenses, Aerith was impressed with the glaive Havaam's shard had turned into, Selenia had gotten a very, _very_ determined glint in her eyes even as she looked over the axe Syal's shard had turned into, and Hue was thrilled to have a shield again.

Of course, once we'd gotten the whole weapons thing figured out, we got to start on summoning.

Much to everyone's surprise, Selenia was the first to figure it out, a woman with a startling resemblance to the Martel of Tales of Symphonia appearing, glowing with a soft green. "Ah... That feels nice..."

The voice was very much familiar, though. I smiled.

"It's nice to hear your voice again."

Syal smiled at me, and I realized she resembled Tabatha more than Martel. She was too _young_ to pull off Martel. "Much better circumstances at least. Oh, that boy... Did we succeed?"

"Yes, although I'm _still_ not sure how he ended up on another world entirely."

"Oops..."

Anise giggled. "If it weren't for the fact that I've gotten used to Lorelei and Shadow, I'd be a bit worried about a summon spirit popping off with something like 'oops'."

I hummed, even as Syal frowned at me. "Kairi... Um..."

"Yes?"

She bit her lip. "You... You have two monolith shards embedded in your body."

...What?

I dropped into a sitting position on the floor and slipped out of my body instantly.

"Ooh, _that_ looks weird..."

I turned to frown at Syal, then realized that she could still see me, even though all the others could see was me sitting on the floor. I shrugged. *You kinda get used to it,* I said, having had to deal with Sync astral-projecting himself right next to his own body. Then I started feeling around within my body.

Syal was correct. There were two shards of monolith crystal in my body. One, I knew I could dissolve harmlessly...

The other was settled right between my heart and spine. And it didn't appear to be doing anything, but...

I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of that one.

That was when I noticed something odd leaking out of it.

I very carefully prodded the odd... mist? It looked like a mist, but colored a bright crimson.

It almost felt like Energies or fonons, or Myre's mutated fonons, but then, it didn't. Still, twist the Energies _this_ way, then a light shove and an inversion, and...

The same sort of mist appeared around my hands, albeit colorless, and I carefully nudged it toward the crystal.

Green and gold wings, the same color and general shape of my DelQues, sprouted from my body's back, and I stood very, very still.

"Um..."

"Well. That's new. Thought that was my thing?"

I turned and shot the girl behind Syal an irritated look, and Syal giggled, turned, and whacked Selenia upside the head.

*Thank you.*

I then turned back to the crystal shard.

Odd... I got the feeling that if I pushed it enough, it would eventually mutate... and mutate me in return.

I dispersed the mist (which I assumed was mana) I'd managed to make, and then had to figure out how to get the wings to go away, which took a little more work than it should have.

Once done with that, I let myself fall back into my body and stood up.

There was a monolith shared inside me, and given the fact that Syal and I had thrown Danté to Aselia, and that world had mana... "Syal. Do you think it's possible Danté may have a shard within his body, too?" I asked. She hummed and closed her eyes.

When she nodded, it took all of my control not to curse.

As it was, I was half-running out of the temple not two seconds later, and though I could feel Kade's confusion, and knew that there was no way I'd be able to risk actually going to Aselia in any way, shape, or form, I had to try to find Danté. If for no other reason than to warn him.

That monolith shard could turn into a Cruxis Crystal. I was certain of it. And if that happened...

I wanted him to at least know what was happening.

I made it to the group's HQ and flopped onto the bed without a thought, falling into my mindscape with an almost frightening ease.

 _*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*_

 _I woke underneath Cygnus, stood, and_ pushed _against the fabricated reality that made up my mindscape. I needed the TimeStream, and didn't need to be wasting time looking for the rabbit hole that usually led there from here. Even if I usually seemed to bypass it altogether, finding the path to the TimeStream was a pain I didn't need to deal with._

 _The nighttime planes around me shivered, and my stomach felt like it dropped out of my torso as the sky above me suddenly seemed to catch fire, and the grasses below changed._

 _The sudden shift in scenery wasn't just a Mindscape Shift._

 _I'd actually succeeded in shoving myself straight from mindscape to TimeStream._

 _I smirked at my small success for a moment before taking off at a run across the plains. I needed to be somewhere unfamiliar. The TimeStream spanned the entire multiverse, and every timeline, but the area I'd landed in was the same place I always landed, except the one time I'd come here from Earth, just after Zion had killed me._

 _If I was going to find Danté, I needed to be in another area._

 _I was wandering along a beach when I spotted him. It wasn't Danté, but now that I wasn't exhausted from a severe Energy backlash and was thinking about him, I recognized the child version of Lloyd Irving instantly._

 _A young Lloyd Irving who was, just as the last time I'd seen him in the TimeStream, panicking and trying to find his Daddy._

 _Except this time, he was calling for Danté, too._

 _I ran over, and he looked up at me, seemed to panic for a second before stopping and looking curious. "Hey... I saw you here last time, too..."_

 _I smiled. "Yes. You did, didn't you?" I reached out and ruffled his hair. He wasn't Danté, but maybe I could pass a message back through him. "Come on, let's get you home," I started, standing up and holding out a hand. I wasn't sure how, but I could feel that he'd been wandering for at least an hour already in the outside world. Probably longer. Which meant we were a long way from wherever Aselia dumped people into the TimeStream._

 _I could have just shoved him back to his own mindscape from here, but I kinda wanted to get to know the kid. He was still very young here, and would be growing up with Danté sticking around, it looked like._

 _And... He needed someone to act as a mother figure for him, even if only for a short time. After all, Raine was never really a mother figure in the game, though she was the eldest female. More a big sister, which was really only supported by the fact that she really was Genis' big sister..._

 _I walked with Lloyd for what felt like a few hours, but was most likely only a few minutes in the outside world. Lloyd was more than happy to chatter on about his life._

 _Colette and Danté both came up quite often._

 _He stopped after a while though as we approached a waterfall and a small lake. He looked around, seeming to recognize the area._

" _Is this where you usually wake up from?" I asked._

" _I found it last time, and walked past here this time, but I keep waking up in a cave somewhere around here," he said. Then he yawned. "I'm getting kinda tired... can we take a break?"_

 _I smiled and nodded, sitting down on the edge of the lake, and humming for a bit. Lloyd sat next to me._

" _Whatcha singing?"_

 _I paused. I knew the tune, and the words, but had never come up with a name for it..._

" _A lullaby," I said. I looked over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders before singing it a bit louder._ "I will raise you, underneath the stars... Catch the prayer, hidden in your heart~"

 _Quite suddenly, Lloyd and I weren't alone, because there was Eraia, looking panicked. Which was odd. She was_ Dark's _Guardian, why was she—_

 _I felt the ache in my mind just before the first gash opened up across my astral body, and I gasped._

 _Lloyd cried out in panic, and I shoved him toward Eraia. I didn't have the strength to send him back to his mindscape all of a sudden, but the Clockwork Fox..._

" _Get him home!" I yelled just before fire erupted throughout my entire body. I closed my eyes, silently praying that someone in that house would be able to console Lloyd when he woke. Because what he was being forced to witness right now would be nothing short of nightmare fuel for the next few months... or at least until we met again and I could assure him that I was alright._

 _I let myself 'die' and reappeared in my shattered mindscape._

 _I say 'shattered' because it had returned to the hellish, volcanic plains that it had started as. You know what the Elephant Graveyard looks like in the Lion King? Elements of that seemed interspersed here, as well._

" _What the hell?!"_

 _I turned to find a very shocked-looking Rem standing across from Dark, who looked beat up, but alive._

 _Rem paid no attention to Dark, or me. She was more preoccupied with directing her horror at her current surroundings._

 _I growled. "Tear me apart in the TimeStream. Shatter my mindscape. But you will leave my friends_ alone _!"_

 _The sheer wave of power I unleashed then and there tore_ Rem _apart, while leaving Dark untouched._

 _That dark part of me, the part I tried to hide, relished the screams of the girl I'd just shoved out of my mind._

 _Dark shuddered, taking a wary step back. "...Kairi?"_

 _And that was all it took to drag me back to reality, to the remains of my sanity. I looked over at Dark, then looked around at my mindscape, swallowing harshly._

" _Now you know..." I muttered. "_ This _... Is what hides under the charade."_

 _Dark glanced around, eyes catching on the lava, the sulfur mist, the skeletons that lay scattered around._

 _The sulfur mist was getting worse, I noted. Thicker, enveloping everything. I knew all too well what it meant._

" _Dark... leave. I... I need to put myself back together."_

" _Don't."_

 _I froze, already ready to start bending the 'reality' of my mind into the form that helped me keep my sanity._

" _Kairi... I think... Asch needs to see this. I think part of him already knows... but he needs to see this."_

 _I closed my eyes. "Please leave." I could simply shove him out, but I didn't_ want _to..."_

" _Show him."_

 _I shoved, far more gently than I had against Rem._

 _It was more than enough to send Dark back to his own mindscape._

 _I started running, racing through the mists, over the lava flows. I had a destination in mind. A very specific destination._

 _I barely made it there before I became aware of an intrusion in my mind._

 _No._

 _Three intrusions._

 _I retreated into the ruins of what may have been a castle. Oddly fitting that it was here, I supposed._

 _Funnily enough, it had changed from the last time I'd seen it. It resembled Choral Castle more than anything else, now._

 _I retreated to the remains of a tower, finding a window to sit in, and gazed out over this... this... wasteland._

 _I don't know how long I sat there, how long I took in the caustic environment._

 _I do know that it shouldn't have been possible for_ anyone _to reach me here, though._

 _And yet..._

" _So this was why you said your mindscape scared one of your friends."_

 _I closed my eyes. "Asch... Please just leave."_

 _Arms wrapped around me. "No. Not after this last attack. Dark said Rem was literally tearing your mindscape apart when Eraia pulled him into it."_

" _She was tearing apart the illusion," I corrected him. "An illusion strong enough to fool Rem into thinking it was the real thing."_

" _He said you shoved her back out."_

" _Once I was aware she was here..." I paused, then waved an arm absently at the hellish world around us. "Asch... look around. What do you see?"_

 _He hummed. "Not someplace I want to get lost in."_

 _I snorted. "And you wonder where all the dark thoughts come from."_

" _Hm. It's not exactly a forgiving landscape. Punishing, really. But then... With the way things are right now..."_

 _I shook my head. "Asch... That illusion that hides my real mindscape... The fields, the stars... that's what keeps me sane and balanced."_

 _Asch is quiet for a bit. "And how much of you do you_ lose _hiding like that?"_

 _I sighed, looking out over the hellish landscape again with a calculating look._

 _The mists that had slowly been choking everything out cleared, as if a sudden wind had overtaken everything. It left the world utterly open and revealed..._

 _But I'd never cared before if Asch saw me as I was. Why should I care now?_

 _I spotted the other two intrusions, Jade and a still-weary Dark, standing near the entrance to the castle ruins. With the sulphur mist cleared away, they were able to spot me, and I them._

 _I stood, simultaneously shoving all three of them out of my mindscape, even as I returned to my body, myself._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

"Kairi?"

I sat up, then was on my feet in an instant, headache ignored as I strode over to Dark. "Has Eraia returned yet?"

"Yes, she got back while I was getting Jade and Asch," he said. "Why?"

"Good. Then Lloyd made it home."

I walked right out of the building before anyone else could get their mental footing, and was halfway to where I could feel Selenia and the others by the time Asch, Jade, and Dark caught up.

"Kairi? You okay?"

"I'm a fucking idiot. Myre's been giving me hint after hint and I've ignored every last one of them," I grumbled. "Asch, I'm going to assume you're needed here."

"Not so much at this point, but I'm not sure dragging me away is a good idea yet."

"Noted," I said, still walking fast enough to have Asch and Dark at a slight jog.

We reached the temple, and the group turned to look at us.

"Guy, Aerith, Selenia. You're with Dark."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I had one I'd considered doing for this chapter, but have put it off to the next chapter in favor of this one._

 _The scene with Lloyd and Kairi in the TimeStream has been plotted out since April. Remember that I'm writing what's going on with Danté over in Sylvarant? Lloyd, after waking up from his 'nightmare' and realizing that Dirk's decided to vanish for the night, gets Noishe and makes Noishe wake Danté. (Which is a smart move, as Noishe can move fast enough not to get a dagger to the head, but Lloyd can't.) Lloyd spends the rest of the night with Danté after explaining the 'nightmare'... which of course leaves Danté baffled as hell trying to figure out why Lloyd's 'dreaming' of Kairi._

 _The scene on Danté's end had been written out for months, and you will not believe how relieved I was to finally get to that scene over here in November._


	50. Chapter 7-5 Part 50

_So I'd hoped to get caught up this weekend, but Idiot Author here forgot her laptop charger at work. All of you owe Shandon (the one mentioned back in 1.2, yeah, that RL friend) for getting me a charger cord so I can update today._

 _Moving on... Ifrit opens his heart up for us in this chapter. Sadly for my sanity, his accent means this is a pain in the ass to write. And probably not as accurate as I'd like it to be. Oh well._

 _Still, what he tells us is certainly interesting._

* * *

" _Ah'm not gonna lie. Ah know ah'm dangerous. Fire may be life... but ya gotta know how ta handle it. A small fire can go out in a blink... an' humans are tiny." –Ifrit_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.5 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 50**

Sylph and Ifrit were hovering.

Well.

Sylph a bit more literally than Ifrit.

It didn't bother me much, but as I was piloting the Albiore III again (Ginji had outright vanished, and I didn't have the time to be tracking him down), I didn't really need them hovering over my shoulders like this.

"You two need something?"

Sylph made an odd chirping sound before retreating into the back, while Ifrit crossed his arms. "You're in a real bad mood."

I winced. "I'm... still trying to balance myself back out, _without_ twisting my mindscape again. Rem... Rem tore apart the illusion that usually helps me keep my sanity," I replied. "Give me a couple weeks to get it worked out. In the meantime, I'm probably going to be in a perpetual bad mood."

Ifrit hummed. "Ya mindscape ain't a pretty place, is it?"

I shook my head. "No. It's not."

"Hm... So what sorts of fun can ya get inta, there? It don't have ta be _safe_ fun, afta all. It's ya mindscape. If ya don't wanna die, ya won't."

I blinked, seeing but not seeing the clouds in front of me.

And then I rolled my eyes, suddenly back in a good mood.

Because of _course_.

Ifrit was fire and _chaos_ , and what was my mindscape but fiery and chaotic?

"Ifrit. If I ever get around to pulling you into my mindscape, you will probably have a heyday."

The man standing over my shoulder chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

I snorted. "Humans have an innate fear of fire."

"Ah can't blame ya. Ya burn so damn easy..."

"So why is my mindscape a volcanic plain?"

"Good grief. Yea, ah can see why ya havin' problems."

I nodded, then glanced below. Tataroo Valley... "We're here. Go let the others know we'll be landing," I ordered. Ifrit complied without a complaint, thankfully. Despite being in a much better mood now, I still wasn't really in what I'd call a good mood.

It just... felt wrong, having my mindscape exposed like it had been.

And Rem's reaction to it... I'd scared her. My mindscape, my internal safe harbor, had scared her.

I wondered idly what hers looked like as I landed.

I'd found out as we were getting teams together that in pushing myself out of my mindscape the way I had, I'd left it wide open. Eraia had noticed, and brought it up to Dark.

Dark had arrived as Rem was just starting to tear the illusion apart. He'd done his best to fight her, but Rem had known what she was doing all too well. She'd succeeded in unburying my true mindscape... then had frozen in her horror.

I knew dark, dangerous mindscapes like mine were few and far between, but the way she'd acted...

The Albiore touched down, and I started shutting down the engines. We'd be here for a while, at least. Whether Myre was still here or not was another story altogether when the woman was capable of teleporting herself wherever she pleased.

It was a quiet group of five that moved down into the Archives.

Jade, Rialle, Ifrit, Sylph, and myself... Though only Jade, Rialle and I had originally been on the team.

Ifrit and Sylph had decided to come along because they were bored. Which... I wasn't going to argue with. Sylph apparently spent most of her days bored out of her mind, and Ifrit had spent most of the last month or so working on taming the hellhounds his release had inadvertently spawned.

Which made me curious. "Hey, Sylph?"

"Yeah?!"

I raised an eyebrow at the girl when she somehow managed to hover... upside-down... in front of me. She blinked at me a few times before flipping upright, and I crossed my arms. "Two things. One, Ifrit has the hellhounds and Gnome those damn eggbears, so what does that leave you with? And two... how the hell did you do that?"

Sylph giggled, flew around in a couple tight circles, and then backed off, leaving behind a transparent, shimmery... thing... That was vaguely human-shaped.

Sylph frowned at it, then made a shoving motion toward it and it solidified a bit into what I'd have mistaken for a fairy... had it not been for the fact that it was mostly transparent, and simply floated in the air without wings. It was gorgeous, though. "There we go!"

The groan Ifrit let out was my only warning before the little lady took off, dancing round and leaving little whirlwinds in her wake.

I giggled at her antics, but couldn't help but notice that Jade was oddly fascinated by the little monster.

Ifrit crossed his arms. "Ah _hate_ ya damn veela, Sylph."

It took a lot of self-control not to snort. I just decided to head off into the old sanctuaries instead of continuing to stand around.

Sylph was more than happy to float after me. "Anyway, um..." She paused. "Actually... I have no clue how I actually managed that upside-down thing."

And that was one snort that did not get repressed.

Jade sighed, shook his head, glanced around for the veela that was now long gone, and then shook his head again.

We finally managed to get down into the split-off where Reighn had brought us down before to check the Clan registers... and I couldn't resist the urge.

"Jade, you guys go on ahead," I said, already headed down the Aurelius-Balfour branch.

The magic wrapped around me as I walked, welcoming me back, and something inside me settled in a way I hadn't been expecting. I didn't have to check my mindscape to know that it hadn't changed back. It was simply the feeling of _fire_ surrounding me. Yes, there was water here as well, but it was the fire that was really pulling me back into the right frame of mind.

I made it to the inner sanctum, and reached up, letting my fingers brush the dangling glass spirals. They clinked against each other, delicately sending soft chimes throughout the space.

The red slab-like crystal of the register practically glowed as I approached it, and I smiled as I looked over it.

Jade's name was now linked to a faint but readable 'Evelyn Cantabile Osborne,' whose name was followed up immediately by a symbol that I couldn't read, but could guess at the meaning of.

The register was an amazing thing, that it recognized her as being pregnant already.

I let my hand rest on it for a moment, noticing another faint name that hadn't been there before. This one, I couldn't read, but it was linked to my own.

Oddly, from what little I could see, it _wasn't_ Asch's name.

I hummed, sat in the center of the space, closed my eyes, and let the feeling of the fire in the cavern simply wrap me up. I needed... peace. With myself. Something that I'd always found difficult.

My mindscape wasn't a natural place. It was terrifying, meant to scare away anyone else... and yet, normal fire-elementals didn't have quite the level of disturbing details my mindscape had.

I realized, as I sat there, that a large part of the problem with my imbalanced personality was the simple fact that I'd tried so desperately to hide it behind something that... wasn't me.

My mindscape scared others... but that wasn't something that I needed to hide, normally. Sarah hadn't _needed_ to be in there.

I took a deep breath and let it out, then repeated the process.

I don't know how long I sat there and meditated, perusing my mindscape without actually going there, but when I finally managed to make it down to the actual Archives, Ifrit was waiting for me.

"Myre ain't here," he said. "Jade an' Rialle went ta look for anythin' they might be able ta use against Gnome."

I nodded, then crossed my arms and looked around. "So... since I haven't actually been down here before, is there any sort of an organizational system I should be aware of?"

Ifrit hummed. "Not one ah can make sense of. Jade might have a betta idea, since he's been runnin' 'round the archives in Rugnica, but..."

I looked around, then started wandering up and down the aisles, glancing over scrolls and books and other such items idly, looking for any hints at an organizational system.

I didn't seem to be finding one, even as Ifrit hovered along near me as we walked. I forced myself not to snap at him.

What came out of my mouth wasn't much better, sadly.

"You could actually be helping, you know."

Ifrit winced. "Couple'a problems with that. One... ah don' wanna risk settin' the whole place on fire. Two..." he stopped, looked away, and shrugged. "Ah can't read. Not any o' the languages humans been usin' in the last few millennia."

...Well. That could be problematic.

"I'll give you that one... So..." I paused and gave the sentience hovering behind me a wary look. "From what I've been able to gather, you actually rather _like_ humans."

Ifrit nodded. "Yeah. Used ta, _long_ time ago, have 'is little fishin' village just north o' the volcano. The people who built the village din't realize it wasn't just anotha mountain, see? So when it erupted, they got all worried an' everythin', an' apparently decided they needed ta make a few sacrifices..." He stopped and shook his head. "Fire is chaos... an' _life_. They dropped two kids inta the open mouth o' the volcano, an' ah grabbed 'em 'fore they could fall in the lava."

I moved on to the next aisle, looking over the books and scrolls half-heartedly as Ifrit continued to tell me about the two children he'd practically raised before sending them back to the village.

It was a peaceful thing, listening to him ramble on about the various villages and cities that had been built around Mt. Zaleho over the millennia. We'd been at this, wandering around as I glanced over books and Ifrit rambled, for almost two hours by the time I found an appropriate pause in the one-sided conversation.

"Ifrit..."

He stopped, looking sheepish. "Ah'm goin' on a bit much, ain't ah?"

I hummed. "What do you remember from just before the Clans sealed you and your siblings away?" I asked, not daring to beat around the bush any longer.

Ifrit grimaced. "Ah rememba Gnome teachin' me an' the othas how ta take a human form. Ah thought it was neat. Gave me somethin' ta get a little closa ta the mos' recent batcha humans that had just settled near mah volcano."

I glanced over when he paused, and noted the frown he wore. "Ya know... Now that ah think about it... Gnome was wearin' somethin' pretty simila ta what he's wearin' now. Jus'... not as high a rankin' uniform."

I hummed, making a mental note of that particular comment. Because it meant that Gnome had been wearing that uniform for a _long_ time.

"Anyway, ah didn' think much o' it mor'n ah already said... Rem came ta mah volcano a few years lata, though, an'..." Ifrit stopped and shook his head. "She was pissed. Somethin' abou' a woman an' Gnome an' a duke that didn' have a chance? Ah dunno what happened. Ah kept mahself outta it. 'Cept then mah volcano was gettin' ready ta blow again, an' ah started warnin' the village 'bout it."

"I take it that's why you always had to deal with new people moving into the area? They'd set up a village, have to move so they wouldn't be in the way of the volcano's eruption, and then another group of humans would set up a new village?"

"Yup." Ifrit was silent for a while, and I glanced at him, noticing something that I could only call 'anguish' on his face. "Those people... Ah'd been contactin' 'em fo' years. An' ah'd warned 'em 'bout the volcano... Ah gave 'em a timeline, an' they started movin'..." He stopped, clenched his jaw, and shook his head. "Gnome sent Rem ta distract meh, had 'er pull meh away... Bah the time ah realized what he was up ta, it was too late. The eruption had gone off in full force, an' the village was destroyed. No survivors. Part o' why ah'm keepin' the hellhounds so close ta Daath."

"You don't want to risk him triggering another early eruption."

Ifrit nodded. "'S not _due_ ta erupt fo' anotha century. An' even so... Most o' the villages got set up on the side bah the sea. Daath, 'spite bein' in a bitta a valley, 's actually safer'n 'em."

"Because we're on the other side of the mountain. The other mountains in the area are probably also a part of it."

Ifrit nodded. "Ah'm not gonna lie. Ah know ah'm dangerous. Fire may be life... but ya gotta know how ta handle it. A small fire can go out in a blink... an' humans are tiny."

I hummed, then stopped, looked up at the cavern ceiling above us, and frowned. Because something was starting to make a worrying amount of sense.

Rem had come to Ifrit saying something about a duke? Gnome had been a lower rank in the military when Ifrit had last seen him before the insanity started?

And his fascination with Dark...

I hadn't had the chance to have anything resembling an actual 'talk' with Gnome yet, but Dark and Natalia... "Ifrit? I need to go talk to Dark. Given that we are underground, if for whatever reason Gnome decides to pay a visit, can you make sure I don't get buried?" I asked.

Ifrit frowned. "Uh..."

I offered up a small smile. "Call it long-distance telepathy. It's basically going to leave my body defenseless."

He nodded. "Ahright. Jus'... don' take too long. Ah dunno if what Rem can do is the same o' not, but..."

I grimaced. "Ifrit, darling. That is _exactly_ how she tore my mindscape apart. That said, _I_ know how to deal with her. Eraia can deal with her. Dark, less so. But between myself and Eraia, he'll be fine."

Ifrit still looked worried, but didn't argue as I found a quiet corner, laid down, and closed my eyes.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _Dark's mindscape looked as beautiful and dangerous as ever as I opened my eyes, and I crossed my arms. I was standing next to a waterfall. Might as well stay here until Eraia got here. She'd have felt the intrusion immediately._

 _It didn't take the Clockwork Creature long at all to find me, and it wasn't much longer before Dark showed up, albeit in an almost shimmery manner, like he wasn't really here._

 _Interesting. He'd managed to split his attention between me and whatever was going on outside, enough so not to drop into his mindscape completely, at least._

" _Need something?" he asked._

 _I hummed. "So to speak... Ifrit mentioned something off-handedly while we were talking, and I've got a theory forming..._ Something _must have triggered this, so... What did Gnome want to 'talk' about?"_

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay, remember I said I had two for last chapter but put one off for this chapter?_

 _It involves Kairi's mindscape. What Van did to her in the early chapters of Re:AST didn't actually give her access to the 3_ _rd_ _plane. She had that all along. What it_ did _do was unlock her second Talent._

 _Yes, you read that right. Kairi still hasn't figured out yet that the timing/prediction Talent is actually her third._

 _At any rate... Back to mindscapes. She's had access to her mindscape for, well,_ ever _. What that little bundle of Energy blockage really gave her was an ability to do just what she did last chapter—tear herself straight out of her mindscape and into the TimeStream. We learn more about mindscapes over the next few chapters (all of which are from Dark's POV, so since part of it is him rationalizing it to himself, and we don't have to deal with Kairi's 'I already know all of this and therefore have no reason to explain it' mentality, it should clear a lot of things up), but something that Dark's NOT going to explain is the nighttime fields we're all so used to._

 _Kairi quite literally twisted her mindscape into that form. And, as Asch so eloquently put it: "How much of yourself do you_ lose _hiding like that?"_

 _The answer: Quite a bit. Kairi (and I) are typically too preoccupied with acting_ human _to really put our minds to use properly. The result? Kairi and Jade really are far more alike than most people are comfortable with. Just that Kairi got it into her head that hiding her true nature was a good idea much earlier than Jade did._


	51. Chapter 7-6 Part 51

_Yes, running late. I know. In my defense, they finally got us moved to the new building, and I have no internet/cell signal/etc. in the new room. So I have to take a hike (and I do mean a_ hike _) to find someplace with signal._

 _Here's Part 51. 52 will be posted ASAP. 53 is due tomorrow and you will get it sometime this weekend, I hope._

 _Also, if anyone knows where Kairi is, I rather desperately need her to come back home._

* * *

'Yes, yes, I know. Pot and kettle.' –Kairi

* * *

 **Chapter 7.6 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 51**

 **Dark's POV**

I glanced around, browsing through the journals I'd found absently. Most of these were too new, detailing the Dawn Age from the points of view of the Clans. What we needed was older, almost a thousand years older...

Aerith wandered over, scowling at the shelves. "You would think, with a bookworm of epic proportions for a brother, I'd have an idea of where to start looking."

I chuckled. "Maybe. The problem is, none of this seems to be really organized well. It's like they brought in stuff as they collected it, and it just ended up wherever they found space for it."

"I've noticed. Huh. You know, if it weren't for the fact that this stuff is far too young to be what we're after, I'd stop and start reading through these things," Aerith said, noticing the journals. I hummed, nodded, and then left that shelf behind.

"Man... Wish Matthias were here. That kid always seemed to know where everything was..."

I looked down at Aerith, realizing that for once, she didn't seem upset from mentioning her dead brother. I knew that she and Reighn had mentioned him multiple times in the past, but... Well. It always resulted in Reighn getting this really guilty look on his face, and Aerith would be upset. It was... rather enlightening, actually. Explained a lot about Reighn, at least.

Forcing my mind to return to the task at hand, I headed back toward the entrance of the cavern, stopping right there and looking around.

Aerith followed me, looking baffled. "Uh... Care to tell me what you're up to, all of a sudden?"

I gestured around at the Archives absently. "Look at this, Aerith. Look at the way the walls have been carved out again and again to make more space. The scratches on the stone of the floor. They've expanded a lot, and maybe they did just kinda store stuff in whatever open place they could find, but the point is, if we can maybe figure out how they expanded..."

"We can trace the location of the information we need," Aerith realized. "In that case, though, we need to move. This isn't the original entrance to the Archives. It was added about a thousand years ago when Mt. Zaleho's last eruption caused earthquakes all over the world. The original entrance caved in, so since there was a natural cave system over this side that they'd been considering cutting into to help expand the Archives some more, they just moved the entrance over through there," she explained as she pulled me along, headed for the original location of the entrance, I assumed.

The 'original location' turned out to be a rough-looking area that I remembered from when I was very young. It was about as far away from the entrance the Council had always used as it could be, so that was where Koran and I had hid.

I turned around, looking at the ceiling and the floor, and occasionally the walls. Slowly, I managed to work out a bit of a pattern, and by the time Selenia caught up to us, I'd found a journal dated a few hundred years before the sentiences had been sealed.

It wasn't quite the time period we were looking for, but it was close.

Selenia and Aerith fanned out around the area, and I kept looking. I was looking for journals, specifically, because of how much information one could learn from the things people _didn't_ say.

I wanted to know what had happened. Why had the relations between the sentiences and the humans broken down? Shadow was a silent guy that liked to sneak up on people, Ifrit was a confirmed prankster, Sylph was a sweetheart that just loved to play, and Lorelei...

Well. Lorelei was still hurting from having been trapped in the core for two millennia—most of his life.

There had been something in Gnome's eyes. He'd known what losing Natalia would do to me, but he had underestimated just how well I knew that I didn't deserve her. Something about that look...

It screamed at me. Told me that there was more there than I knew.

I wanted to see if maybe one of the journals hidden away here would be able to help me decipher this riddle.

I held all the pieces. I knew that much. I just needed to find the correct form. They needed to be put together, and with that, I needed help. I was definitely _not_ Kairi, master of riddles and confusing the heck out of people for the fun of it. Though, at least I wasn't Sync. As much as I cared for the boy, I was very grateful that I wasn't him right now.

I finally found a journal that had what Shadow had told us was about the right date. It was still a few years prior to when he said Gnome had sudden flipped around and started throwing his fits, but as I opened it and started slowly translating the old Clan dialect, what I was reading painted a grim picture.

It looked like I'd found the correct journal on the first try, because the picture that was tucked into it just a few pages in was of a _very_ familiar face, one that had once tried to tempt me and Natalia away from each other.

Gnome...

I read over the connected passage again, realized that I didn't understand this well enough, and walked over to where I could hear Aerith and Selenia grumbling back and forth. Guy had vanished into the bookshelves earlier, and I wasn't going to try to find him right now.

"Aerith."

She turned and gave me a curious look, and I held out the journal. "You're better with the Clan Dialect than I am."

She blinked, took the journal, and frowned at the picture. "Is this...?"

"Gnome. The uniform's not trimmed as nicely, but I'd guess that's because it's a lower-ranking officer's uniform in this picture," I replied. "Here, this is the entry the picture is connected to," I added, pointing to the correct one. Aerith sighed, sat down, and read through it.

Her eyebrow raised as she went, and I noticed she glanced at me once before looking down at it again. Then she shook her head. "You sure he didn't just copy this guy's appearance?"

I crossed my arms. "From what little I was capable of reading, I'm sure it's the right person."

Aerith hummed. "'Duke Zalan has put me in charge of a rather mismatched group of men. Among them are Private Ahmed Annad and Sergeant Gaius Shale. Ahmed is from the desert, and not afraid to show it, but Gaius... His accent hints at being from Bergin, but he insists that his home is near Sharot. The man in an enigma, and one I'm happy to have in my unit, if I'm being quite honest. He's been nothing but helpful, and has managed to get a few of his fellow soldiers out of tight spots that even I couldn't see a way out of. A shame the man's only so recently been promoted, as I'd be making his case for another promotion already were it not for the probation period.'" Aerith stopped reading and looked up at me, and I hummed, filing the alias away, along with a silent cheer.

"So I was right."

The two girls gave me odd looks, and I shrugged. "I saw something in him when he came after me in Grand Chokmah," I said. "He didn't start out angry. Something happened."

Aerith tapped the journal some, then started flipping through it idly. After a moment, she paused, then flipped through to the back. A moment later, she leafed a few pages backwards, then was still for a moment, the only movement being of her eyes as they scanned the page.

Her face suddenly drained of color.

"Aerith?" Selenia prompted, having also seen the pure _horror_ in Aerith's expression.

"There are two entries for this day," Aerith said, her voice quiet. "In the first one, written around noon, as best I can tell, he sounds quite happy. There's something here about a Lady Anastasia getting engaged to the Duke Zalan mentioned earlier. In the other half of the day's entry, he's... shocked. Shocked and angry. It..." Aerith stopped, and looked up at me.

I clenched my jaw to hold back the curses.

"It, what?" Selenia prompted.

"Gaius loved Anastasia," I managed to say without spitting it out.

Aerith nodded. "Gaius comes to him to vent between the two entries. He, the author, that is, isn't sure whether to pity him or be angry with Anastasia and Zalan."

Gnome's words to Natalia came back to me. _"So it seems ve have an impasse. You do not see the dangerous game you are playing... and your little assassin friend vill take the fall for it. I am almost tempted to let the two of you live, just to vatch this play out, to prove that I vas correct. History is very fond of repeating itself, you see..."_

I crossed my arms. "Aerith. I'll leave that to you for now. I can't..." I stopped as an odd case of double-vision took me for a moment before it faded. However, I wasn't stupid. That odd second sight had faded to a familiar snowy landscape just before it had gone away entirely.

I focused inward on Eraia, and found her racing through my mindscape, toward...

Oh boy.

"Kairi's decided to pay Eraia a visit," I announced as Eraia got to her, Kairi notably staying well away from the more personal parts of my mindscape. With my focus turned mostly inward, I could feel myself standing just a ways off from the two of them.

At the same time, it was odd standing there and in the real world at the same time.

Thankfully, neither Selenia nor Aerith was trying to get my attention.

' _Need something?'_ I asked.

Kairi looked somewhat impressed. _'So to speak... Ifrit mentioned something off-handedly while we were talking, and I've got a theory forming..._ Something _must have triggered this, so... What did Gnome want to 'talk' about? Back when you were in Grand Chokmah, before everything fell apart?'_

Yeah, I got the feeling that would be the question. _'He was trying to push me and Natalia apart. Kept reminding us that she was nobility and I was a former_ assassin _. Emphasized history repeating itself, too.'_

' _Then Gnome stood right where you did, once.'_

I nodded. _'Yes. We've found an old journal that confirms it, though since it's in the Clan Dialect, I can't translate it all that easily.'_

Kairi hummed. _'So I can safely assume he lost his princess to another noble.'_

' _Yes, and...'_ I paused and grimaced. _'He spoke to me... like I didn't realize that Natalia was out of my league. He spoke to Natalia like he believed she was simply leading me along.'_

' _So it's worse than I initially thought,'_ Kairi murmured. _'Amazing, how quickly a single person can screw over an entire world, isn't it?'_

I couldn't help but snort and give her a pointed look. She'd told us enough about Tales of the Abyss...

The thoughtful look was replaced by an amused one. _'Yes, yes, I know. Pot and kettle.'_

I chuckled, then sighed. _'Any ideas?'_

' _I think someone should try to talk to Gnome again. Other than that... Well. Now that I know what started the whole mess, I think I can safely turn my attention toward figuring out how to fix this mess,'_ Kairi said.

I nodded. _'We'll keep looking into things here, too.'_

She just hummed and vanished out of my mindscape.

Without anything to keep my attention there, I snapped back to reality with an almost painful feeling in the back of my head. I groaned slightly and rubbed the back of my neck, wondering where the feeling had come from.

"So, what'd Kairi want?"

I jumped a little, blinking at the woman standing next to me. Because where Selenia and Aerith had been just a few minutes ago, there now stood Myre.

"Hi."

Myre crossed her arms. "What'd Kairi want?"

"Uh... Oh. Wanted to know what Gnome and I talked about in Grand Chokmah."

"You two actually talked?"

"Yes..."

"Huh... Um, anyway. Selenia said they've misplaced Guy. Aerith seems to think the two of them have found whatever you were looking for, so..."

I crossed my arms and glanced around. There were more journals missing from the shelf I'd pulled the one journal from, and there were other books missing here and there. "So what are you doing here? Kairi said you were in Tataroo Valley."

Myre hummed. "There was a cave-in in one section of the Tataroo Valley archives. I was checking to see if the information I was looking for, which would have been in that section, was one of the ones that was copied and brought here. It wasn't, sadly..."

I frowned. "What do you mean? I thought..."

Myre shook her head. "There's some knowledge that managed to get copied and passed around to all three archives. Then there's some more that's been placed in two of the three. But at least half of the information in each archive is unique to it alone. What I'm looking for was in the Tataroo Valley archive only, it seems. It'll take me weeks to unbury the book I'm looking for, but it should do the trick."

"The trick for what?"

"Re-sealing the sentiences, if it comes to that." Myre paused and made an upset expression. "I'd really rather not seal all of them away again, but... Sealing less than all of them results in an imbalance. That's a large part of why Yulia sealed Lorelei in the core. She didn't have the knowledge to seal him the way his siblings had been sealed, but if she'd left him out, the imbalance would have caused problems."

I hummed. Interesting... "What about something Kairi mentioned? Using Lorelei's control over seventh fonons to keep them trapped in replica bodies?"

"One, that would still leave us no way of limiting Lorelei, two, would that even work?"

I shrugged. "Apparently it does work. Lorelei and Shadow tested it. Still, you bring up a good point." Much as Lorelei won't want to admit it.

Myre crossed her arms and looked thoughtful. "Well, at least things aren't as bad as they were last time. Yet."

I couldn't help it. "Dare I ask how bad things were last time?"

Myre shrugged. "The Asch in my timeline died in Baticul. Fortunately for your counterpart's sanity, so did most of the Council."

I snorted. "Honestly, and I know Natalia would shake her head at me for saying this... I'm glad I'm not the king."

Myre smiled. "Yeah. You'd have done well, but..."

"Hey, you ready to go... Uh... Hey Myre."

Myre offered up a small wave and then disappeared with a very small Energy Circle. Guy just sighed. "And... she's gone again."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So yeah. This is where Myre disappeared to. And now we're starting to uncover bits and pieces of what happened 3000 years ago... Remember the name Anastasia. It comes up again later. Repeatedly._


	52. Chapter 7-7 Part 52

_Okay, yeah, I'm... having a bad week. Shush._

 _Anyway... I love Kairi's response to Dark's quote up here. I feel sorry for Dark, but... I still think the last scene of the chapter is kinda funny._

 _On another note, Dark and Kairi threw these two chapters at me from out of nowhere. I was both irritated and amused. Amused because I wrote these over about a day and a half. Irritated because... outline. Ignored. Again. (Why do I expect them to do any less?)_

 _And as usual, if anyone sees Kairi, let me know. (She's been flitting in and out of my head for my Hunger Games crossover of my fanfics, but outside of managing to mildly terrify Asch with her utter amusement at watching the other characters (try to) kill each other (does it surprise anyone that Kairi's taken President Snow's job?), she's done nothing. At all.) So yeah. Help?_

* * *

" _If this is what a hangover feels like, I am_ never _touching alcohol." -Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.7 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 52**

 **Dark's POV**

 _I was falling. Again._

 _Indigo wings spread wide as a moment's panic overtook me, catching the air and granting me a soft landing._

 _I glanced around in the semi-darkness, irritation starting to set in._

 _The moment night had fallen, Kairi had pulled me into my mindscape, apologized to both me and Eraia, and torn a huge crevice in the landscape._

 _I was_ still _fighting off the headache from that._

 _Once the crevice was in place, she had sat down and walked me through how not to die in my own mindscape. Apparently she didn't want to risk Rem taking less of a break than she appeared to be wanting to take._

 _Which was why I was down here. The 'ground' beneath my feet was black, inky almost, and yet seemed to have the appearance of smoke, rolling and shifting around underneath a deceptively thin layer of glass._

 _We needed to shatter that layer of glass, but short of allowing me to slam into it bodily after being thrown from the edge, it was impossible._

 _For whatever reason, I had little to no control over my wings here. Kairi had been amazed by them the first time they'd appeared, then had just been amused._

 _Now, the both of us were quickly growing irritated with them._

 _I glanced up just in time to spot the orange and purple ball falling rapidly._

 _Kairi missed me by about a foot, though, and phased straight through the glass, the black smoky-looking stuff underneath swirling in the wake of her undeterred passage._

 _Eraia was coming down a bit more carefully, and pointedly not stepping on what, to me, was as solid as stone beneath my feet._

 _It took a moment for Kairi to reappear, hauling herself out of the black mist and up onto a ledge. "So. This obviously isn't working." She gave a pointed glare to my back, where my wings were still folded like any bird's._

 _I sighed. "Obviously..."_

 _I glanced down at the black smoke, and tipped my head to the side, curiosity finally overcoming me. "What's down there, anyway?"_

" _Hell if I know what you'd find down there," Kairi grumbled. "I always end up half-drowning before figuring out which way is up. When Mom taught me, she always complained about burning."_

 _I hummed, my wings shifting ever so slightly..._

 _Something clicked, and I looked up at the edge of the crevice._

 _Before Eraia or Kairi could say anything else, I was in the air, headed back for the top, and then past it._

 _My wings were a part of me here. I could always feel them, even if they were sometimes just_ not there _. Kairi's mindscape was fiery, dry... and she'd complained about drowning?_

 _I flipped myself around with barely a thought, rolling into a dive aimed straight for the crevice, and the barrier at its bottom._

 _My wings usually flared about halfway down, whether I wanted them to or not. But then, Kairi usually threw me off the top._

 _I passed the halfway mark, wings tucked close to my body, and just barely saw the relieved sigh Kairi let out before I hit the barrier._

 _Pain erupted through my entire body. My wings, ethereal in appearance, were torn away violently, my head, neck, and spine felt as if they'd been shattered, my muscles were on fire._

 _There wasn't a single part of me that didn't hurt, and it wasn't until I noticed my ears ringing that I realized I'd been screaming._

 _Everything was black, the pain refused to fade, and the feeling of helplessness that came over me was smothering._

 _I barely felt something grab hold of me, barely acknowledged that there was suddenly light where there had only been darkness before, barely spotted the flash of orange before my eyes slid closed._

" _Easy, Dark. I've got you..."_

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

Voices. There were voices around me, some of them angry, some scared...

I knew the calm voice. That cadence, the slight accent that hinted at her being from elsewhere...

I tried to call her name, call out to the one voice I could recognize, but what came out was little more than a groan.

That voice was directed at me now, even as one arm propped me up and another held a glass to my lips.

"Shh... Drink. You need to rest, still."

I was far too tired to argue.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _I was back in my mindscape._

 _At least... I think it was my mindscape..._

 _I reached out to brush my hand against a fallen tree, and memories buffeted me._

 _The Rugnican Archives, the days spent playing hide-n-seek with Koran, training with Rhunön and Ryndor._

 _Once the memories settled into place, I got the dark feeling that I was missing more. That my memories were misplaced, misaligned, and needed to be sorted out again._

 _Quickly._

 _I raced through the underbrush, only to trip and fall into a stream._

 _Except there was no water here. Dead fish lay all around, somehow failing to stink up the entire area, and I knew there should have been water... but there wasn't._

 _My hand slipped as I moved to stand, and my fingers brushed against one of the fish, more memories settling into place._

 _An orange-haired girl petting Koran, a green-haired boy stumbling as I dropped a name (Kairi), a blonde-haired girl in a blue dress, and an angry man in a robe._

 _I pulled my hand away, as if burned, and felt a few things settle into place that simply wouldn't before._

 _Kairi. The woman whose voice I'd heard before passing out before, the woman who'd given me the water when I'd woken, that was Kairi. And the blonde..._

 _My chest ached, and_ tugged _._

 _I took off running in the direction of that pull, finding myself on a ledge. It looked like a fire had gone out of control in here, and I'd have sworn a waterfall was supposed to be flowing in front of the ledge._

 _Smudgy drawings, mostly indiscernible due to the soot, covered the walls, and I raised a hand to try to trace one._

 _The blonde-haired girl petting Koran, giving me a mischievous look as we listened in to a conversation, a quiet talk at the edge of a lake, aiming a gun at the man in the robe, looking out over the ocean, watching the girl renounce her claim on the throne..._

" _Natalia!"_

 _A halting click-whir caught my attention, and I glanced down at the metal creature near me._

 _It was injured..._

 _I knelt, intending to try to fix the injury, only to have more memories assault me._

 _A small liger cub bumping into me, knocking me over; a grown version of the liger cub, laying in a nest as I cleaned my guns; the same liger dying; another liger cub latched onto my arm; this new cub fighting alongside a silver liger; a small metal creature leading us out of the TimeStream..._

 _Koran. Sorylle. Eraia..._

 _Eraia. Who no longer looked injured, even as she shook herself and click-whir-screeched at me._

" _Pull yourself back together."_

 _I glanced around, looking out at my mindscape... my torn, devastated mindscape. "How...?" I asked, overwhelmed by the damage._

" _I should not have to repeat Kairi's words for her."_

 _That made no sense... What words? Kairi was dead... wait... no. Reighn had said..._

 _Something floated up through the haze and shambles that passed itself off as my memories._

"You are your mindscape. Your mindscape is you. Your memories, your personality, everything that you _are_ , you can find even in your shattered mindscape. And Dark... _Shaping_ a mindscape is simple, if you can remember this riddle... 'If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know, you need only ask.'"

 _I looked over the destroyed landscape again, muttering that last line under my breath. "If you have to ask, you will never know... If you know..."_

 _I stopped, looking up at the sky. Something was missing. Something_ vital _._

" _You need only ask..."_

 _I threw myself off the ledge, sheer adrenaline rushing through me even as indigo lit up, spread, and caught the air._

 _I was racing through the skies of my mindscape within seconds. I knew it, I knew this place with every part of my heart and soul._

 _Water returned to the lakes and streams, the fish came back to life. Trees rose anew from the half-frozen ground, the destruction left over from what seemed to have been wildfires faded as new life took over the burned-out forests and caves._

 _My memories came back with each wrong I righted, until I remembered everything from my childhood to diving into that black abyss inside the crevice._

 _The crevice, which was the only defect left in my mindscape._

 _I landed at the edge and looked down at the black warily._

" _Oh, good. You've managed to pull yourself back together already."_

 _I flinched. Somehow, the voice that had seemed so comforting in my pain and delirium was much_ less _comforting now._

 _Kairi was the reason I'd thrown myself into that abyss, after all._

" _I'm not going to apologize."_

 _I crossed my arms. "Kinda guessed that much."_

" _Although Natalia's very seriously considering either a career change, or a long conversation with Ryndor."_

 _I chuckled. "Now_ that _doesn't surprise me." I turned and looked Kairi over, noting that she looked like death warmed over, herself. "How long was I... out of it?"_

" _It took me almost three hours to find you in that damn abyss. Another two to get you into a bed in Eldrant. Seven hours restabilizing your Energy Core, which, by the way, seems to connect to your astral presence via your wings. Once that was done, you spent another six or so hours comatose before you woke up just enough for me to get some water down your throat."_

" _I vaguely remember that."_

" _Good, you should have," Kairi said. "Anyway, that was last night, around nine. It's five in the morning now."_

 _I hummed. "So I was out of it an entire day."_

" _Yes, and you should probably get some actual sleep now that your mindscape's been put back together. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you dropped straight from waking up to your mindscape. Get a few hours' rest. I'll wake you up before lunch," she said. I sighed, but could feel the exhaustion setting in now, and nodded._

 _Kairi was gone in an instant, and so was I._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I woke up to a shouting match and a headache worthy of a few of the nastiest liger curses I knew.

Sorylle's barking laughter silenced the argument, and I reached over and blindly slapped at the space where the sound had come from.

My hand met cloth and hair, and Kairi let out a small 'oomph'.

"Feeling better?" she asked a moment later.

I groaned and forced myself to open my eyes.

Unfortunately, the light didn't do anything for the headache. "If this is what a hangover feels like, I am _never_ touching alcohol."

Kairi must have been feeling better, because she threw her head back and laughed. "I think you'd prefer the hangover."

I grunted out an insult and pulled the pillow over my eyes. "You are going to die a painful death one of these days. If I have to facilitate it, so be it."

Kairi snorted. "Yeah, you're feeling better."

It was sad when we could tell that just because she was laughing her ass off and I was attempting to insult her.

Natalia came into the room, having stepped out for a moment when her argument with Kairi had broken off, and held out a glass of water.

I was grateful to see it. I knew I needed something. My mouth was dry, my stomach rolling, and my head... oh, _gods_ my head.

I spent a few minutes idly planning out just how I wanted Kairi's death to go before Natalia spoke up and broke me out of my less-than-stellar plotting. "Kairi and I were just talking..."

Kairi grimaced. "Give him a few days to recover. Or at least a few hours to fight down the headache. Gods, I'm not shoving him off the cliff again in ten minutes."

Wait, _what?_

I looked over at Kairi, and she winced again.

"You're going to make me do that _again_."

"Rem isn't going to dive in after you and pull you out."

...

I slumped. This round went to Kairi.

I sighed, downed the rest of the water, and was almost _relieved_ to hear my stomach start growling. If it was up to grumbling at me for a lack of food, that meant I could probably eat something without losing it a few minutes later.

"So, what time is it?"

"Time to get you some food. I was going to wait another hour or so before waking you up, but it seems your body's done resting for now. You need food, and probably a trip to the bathroom."

Yup. Like she really needed to remind me.

Once I got back from a rather impressive dash to the toilet, something that I noticed had gotten Kairi and Natalia both giggling, Kairi stood and motioned for us to head out. I guessed the next destination would be food...

Something my stomach was now very _loudly_ insisting upon.

"Good grief. If your stomach were any louder, I'd think you were carrying a baby liger around under your shirt."

It took a lot of self-control not to jump out of my skin.

As it was, Natalia squealed at the sudden addition to the group.

"Shadow, please stop terrorizing our friends," Kairi said, not sounding at all surprised—or like she actually expected the sentience to follow through on the request.

Natalia settled for giving him a sour look, and then turned back around with a bit of a huff... Which was about when I noticed what she was wearing.

She'd changed out of the outfit she'd gotten from Emperor Peony right before the Tower of Rem, and while it wasn't even close to being an 'exact replica' of the dress Noir had asked York to make her... it was quite similar.

Kairi snorted when I tripped, and I pointedly looked anywhere _but_ Natalia. Food first. Ogle my girlfriend later.

Natalia giggled a bit, a vast improvement from her almost-insulted reaction when I'd half-run out of the inn in Belkend when she'd first worn the original dress.

I dared to glance over and grin back. "Your father is probably rolling in his grave right now."

She hummed. "Actually, he liked the dress Noir gave me. _Alpine_ had a maid burn it."

"All the more reason for him to be rolling," Kairi said over her shoulder. "He's laughing too hard to stay still."

Point, Kairi.

Natalia just rolled her eyes, even as one of her hands found mine.

Kairi glanced back, smiled, and then took off, walking a little faster than necessary, Shadow being pulled along as well.

I mentally added another point to the tally.

She needed them, after yesterday.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Natalia has apparently decided she likes showing off as much skin as possible. Which is semi-canon, as her swimsuit leaves nothing to the imagination, and her Star of Malkuth outfit isn't much better about hiding her chest._

 _On the other hand, she's picked up Noir's mentality of 'Let them stare. If they're busy looking at your girls, they're_ not _paying attention to the sharp pointy thing you're about to stab them with. Or the wallet you're about to steal.' (Though, of course, Natalia's not stealing wallets.)  
_

 _So... yeah. Poor Natalia. Between Dark, Kairi, and Noir, she's been so corrupted... and apparently Ingobert didn't mind. Probably mostly because it_ works _, and if it works, it keeps Natalia alive a little longer. Maybe. (I don't confess to know the insides of that man's head. I don't even_ want _to know.)  
_


	53. Chapter 7-8 Part 53

_I'm sorry. I've managed to run out of pre-written chapters. But I am keeping track of how many I owe you guys, and finishing the Main Arcs of AEtT is one of my main goals for 2017. Also, my muses have returned. So at least I'm getting words down, now..._

 _Here's Part 53. A month late, but I'm doing my best to keep up with work, writing, and all my other responsibilities. (Edit: And then it took my 3 days to actually upload this thing after setting it up to be posted. Hrg.)  
_

 _Enjoy. Just two more Parts left and then we're on to Chapter 8._

 _Anybody want to guess Chapter 8's title? Given the massive hints back in Chapter 2.2, process of elimination should leave you with two options. So you've got a fifty-fifty chance... maybe. (You'll have a better idea of which one it is once I get Part 55 posted.)_

* * *

" _Well... Bad news. I'm not as indestructible inside my own mindscape as I thought I was." –Kairi_

 _Overgrown housecats, the lot of them. –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.8 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 53**

 **Dark's POV**

 _I was very quickly getting sick of my mindscape. Not the landscape, oh no. I could have wandered around in here for ages and not gotten bored._

 _No._

 _I was getting sick of Kairi shoving me off that damn crevice that she refused to let me put back together. I could_ feel _the strain it was causing on my mindscape, could feel the headache it was causing even past everything else._

 _Kairi didn't even seem to care that it was hurting me, and while I knew that she'd gone through the same thing—perhaps even_ worse, _as she hadn't had someone to help make the headache go away—I was still bitter over it._

 _Something she acknowledged, and didn't worry about. She knew that what she was doing was necessary, and that gave her the strength to tell me to shut up and stop whining._

 _Something I notably didn't do. Really, I probably should have, because I know all too well that she could just as easily stop helping to relieve the headache, but at least it let me express my displeasure without throwing_ her _off the cliff._

 _I landed at the top, not even bothering to pull my wings back in, and sighed, looking at the black abyss at the bottom once again. Kairi would climb up and shove me if I didn't jump as soon as I could. I hated doing this, because most of the time I would spread my wings and land on the once-again solid surface on impulse. I did_ not _want to end up in that painful abyss again._

 _I sighed, jumped, and kept my wings tucked to my body. I didn't want to do this again, but Kairi wouldn't let me stop until I had..._

 _I hit the 'barrier' and shattered it a second time, and this time, while the pain from my wings being torn away was excruciating, it didn't feel like the rest of me had been broken as it had the first time. I floated there in the darkness for a moment, looking around._

 _It was... strange. I couldn't see anything, not even my hands in front of my face..._

 _It quickly started to get to me. I hadn't been in the complete darkness like this since before Koran and I had left Ryndor for Keterburg. Thanks to the snow, there was always at least a little light there. Snow and ice reflected light so well..._

 _I looked around, knowing that it was useless even as I did._

 _I had no way to regain my bearings. Which way was up? How was I supposed to get back to my mindscape when I couldn't see a single thing that was around me? I panicked, and then, the most glorious feeling._

 _A hand wrapped around my wrist, pulled me up, brought me back to the surface that I couldn't see._

 _Kairi pulled me out, and I clung to the rocks with everything I had... even though, once I was free of it, the barrier over the abyss formed up again. I glanced around, the ache in my mind telling me more than enough, even if I hadn't spotted the cracks in the crevice walls that indicated the destruction had spread again._

 _Kairi stayed put as I took to the sky and cleaned everything up again. It didn't take nearly as long as it did last time._

 _I felt it before I saw her._

 _The intrusion._

 _Kairi and Eraia were already here, already at the top edge of the crevice again, and the girl..._

 _I knew her all too well. I'd seen her tearing up Kairi's mindscape._

 _She seemed startled to see Kairi here._

 _I angled down and landed with a light thump a few yards away. "What do you want, Rem?"_

 _The girl took a half-step back. "What is_ she _doing here...?"_

 _I snorted, realizing just how terrified the girl was of Kairi._

 _She was right to be terrified. I barely understood what I was doing every time I jumped off that ledge and shattered the barrier between my mind and that abyss. Kairi knew_ exactly _what she was doing, what she was forcing me to do._

 _I stepped over closer to Rem and scowled at her. "So, what do you want from me?" I asked. She glanced at me, then at Kairi, and then_ shoved _._

 _Suddenly, Kairi was gone, and there was a dark scorch mark where she had been. Rem smirked." Oh goodie. I can still get rid of her if I need to..." She turned to me and the made a slashing motion._

 _I felt more than saw my mindscape being torn apart, and within seconds, I felt myself falling._

 _I hit the barrier already knowing exactly what to expect. Oddly enough, the moment I thought about trying to get back to my mindscape, I knew which way was up, and though I didn't have my wings, I was able to move through the blackness with ease, almost as if they were still there._

 _Once I got back up to the top, and noticed how ravaged my mindscape was, I glared at Rem._

 _Who, to her credit, was at least looking disturbed. She took a half-step back and shook her head._

" _No... no, that should have... you shouldn't..."_

 _Things suddenly clicked into place. That darkness that Kairi kept shoving me into, the abyss that she'd torn a hole in my mindscape to reach..._

 _That was what swallowed up someone who'd been shoved out of their own mindscape. It really_ was _an abyss..._

 _One Kairi had been training me to escape, knowing full well that even with Eraia doing her best to distract Rem... If the little girl managed to tear enough of my mindscape apart, I'd fall without trying._

 _I growled._

 _Kairi had shoved Rem straight out of her mindscape, hadn't she?_

 _Even as I felt around, subconsciously pulling my mindscape back together—including that crevice Kairi had created, because I didn't need it anymore—I_ knew _what she'd done._

 _This was_ my _mind. I allowed Eraia haven here..._

 _Rem was_ not welcome.

 _I raised my arms and made a shoving motion, feeling my mindscape simply_ ejecting _the light-elemental menace._

 _I got a surprised yelp for my efforts as Rem disappeared._

 _Kairi managed to slip back in not long after, and I frowned at the still-bleeding wounds she bore. "Kairi..."_

" _Rem tore apart the illusion, forcing it to take its true shape. At that point, however, she stalled, too shocked to actually damage my mindscape properly. And then..." she stopped and grimaced. "You and Asch convinced me not to change it back... So when she shoved me just now, she tore a few holes in my mindscape. The problem is... I'm... not certain I can just pull myself back together the way I used to without..."_

 _I knew what she meant, when she stopped._

" _You don't want to accidently shift your mindscape again while trying to put it back together."_

 _Kairi nodded, and even as I watched, the gashes across her astral presence were slowly starting to heal. Quickly enough that I_ could _watch, but not as quickly as I knew they should have._

" _So... you got rid of Rem on your own...?"_

 _I nodded, then sighed. "I'm still kinda pissed at you for throwing me off that cliff... but thanks."_

 _Kairi hummed. "Your Energy Core and astral presence can only be separated for so long. If Rem had thrown you out of your own mind, and I hadn't been able to get to you in time, you'd have died, and very well could have taken me with you if I were searching for you when your body gave out. And..." She sighed. "The first time's always the worst. It_ breaks _you, irrevocably."_

 _I nodded. I didn't need her to tell me this, but it seemed to be helping_ her _, because the gashes were healing up even faster._

 _Kairi sighed again and crossed her arms. "I don't think there's much more I need to—you little_ bitch! _"_

 _The sheer number of wounds to suddenly spread across her body told me enough, even if Kairi hadn't just vanished._

 _Rem might have been shoved out of my mindscape, but she'd apparently gotten over her initial fear of Kairi's._

 _Deciding that I had no more reason to linger, I let go._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

Kairi was bleeding. It was just a thin trickle of blood from her nose, but...

This terrified me, had me pacing back and forth along the end of the bed I'd put her in when I found her slumped against the wall. Something was wrong, why was she bleeding, she could handle Rem—

Couldn't she?

A soft groan, a cough, and I was at her side instantly, even as Asch came racing in, hands glowing green almost before he made it to Kairi.

Hands pressed against her head.

If I hadn't been looking for it, I never would have spotted the flash of utter panic.

Asch was panicking.

"What happened?!" he managed to ask, Scan's glow fading even though he didn't move his hands.

The faintest of blue-green glows had taken its place.

"Rem was trying to tear our mindscapes apart. I managed to shove her out, but she went after Kairi..."

Asch grimaced.

And then the relief, a far-too powerful expression that meant Kairi had come way too close to the edge.

Again.

Gold eyes blinked open, any green lost behind that startling gold that always seemed to dominate Kairi's eyes when she was using magic.

"Well... Bad news. I'm not as indestructible inside my own mindscape as I thought I was."

I let my head hang, fighting back the initial reaction to reach over and smack her. It was just so like Kairi to unleash sarcasm upon waking up from a near-fatal incident. And from the way Asch had been about to panic, I was under no illusions as to how near-fatal it really had been.

"Good news, Rem is going to be out of commission for however it takes her to figure out just what I did. Which should take a good few weeks, at least. Ow."

I sighed, shook my head, and headed for the door. "Stop trying to get yourself killed, please. We kinda need you alive..."

"I don't do it on purpose..."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

Count on Kairi.

"Dark, you're awake again!"

I stopped and smiled over at Natalia as she ran up. "Yeah. And between me and Kairi, we've given Rem quite the headache."

Natalia stopped and looked off to the side slightly. "That's... nice and all..."

Uh-oh.

"Who needs Kairi, and where?"

"The Isle of Feres has been beached in northern Rugnica."

Which meant... "Twilight."

"Yes. And all of the replica ligers," Natalia murmured. "Sorylle wants to go, and since it was Twilight, I thought..."

"And you'd need me to come along anyway since I'm the only one who actually speaks liger."

"Yes, that too."

I glanced over my shoulder, back toward the room Kairi had been in.

It wasn't safe on the ground... but this was _Twilight_. Kairi's _brother_.

"Kairi should stay here. Rem managed to hurt her pretty bad, even as Kairi put her out of commission for a couple weeks," I said. "If you can find someone willing to take the three of us, I think we can get away with just you, me, and Sorylle going with whoever takes us."

I pointedly didn't mention the fact that as this wasn't really all _that_ important, no one would be amused with us running off. And Natalia seemed to notice.

"Well... Sylph said she'd be willing to take us. And she's the one who told me, so..."

I raised an eyebrow. "I hope she's not planning to try to _carry_ us."

A familiar giggle had me turning, spotting the three-foot-tall fairy easily as she zipped around a corner. "'Course not! All of us can teleport!"

Sorylle growled softly as she padded up behind Natalia. "We will not be missed if we vanish for a few hours... or days. Teams have returned to the Archives, looking for more information."

Which meant, if the three of us took off, no one would notice immediately.

I nodded and pulled Natalia close, and Sylph giggled and floated over toward us, waiting for Sorylle to tuck herself half-between me and Natalia before she flew a couple quick circles around us.

The whirlwind that started up made seeing anything outside it impossible, until it simply cleared away, leaving us on a very familiar beach.

This was right where we'd seen the Eastern and Western Clans off when the ice bridges had formed.

Two growls caught my attention.

The first was a territorial warning growl.

The second was so familiar that I knew, even before Sorylle took off to go tackle the silver liger, that Twilight had already found us.

I smiled, glancing over my shoulder and watching the two ligers as they tussled.

Slowly, so slowly, more of the ligers started to come over, drawn by curiosity. Sylph flitted around here and there, and a few cubs—dear _forests_ they'd had cubs already—took off after her, clumsily tripping over themselves and the sand trying to keep up.

Natalia hummed, and growled a general greeting to the liger that was sniffing at her hand.

It—no, this one was female—recoiled for a moment, paused, and then shoved her head into her hand.

Natalia giggled, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Overgrown housecats, the lot of them.

Sylph's giggles drew my eyes back over to her, and I saw the way she was dancing around through the air, much closer to the ground than she normally would, playing with the liger cubs.

Twilight padded over with Sorylle and nudged my arm. "Fire-mane... is she..."

I smiled. "She's fine. Managed to hurt herself incapacitating an enemy, but she'll be fine." I glanced around. Most of the adult ligers were female, and Twilight was the only alpha... I knew he and Sorylle were mates, or had been at one point, but even so... "So how many of the little ones running around are yours?"

Twilight made an irritated-sounding huff. "Four. The rest were sired by a pi that had escaped the mass destruction caused by the Southern Clan."

I smiled, even as Sorylle stuck her head up under his and growled soft assurances that she wouldn't have minded more little ones to help look after.

I glanced at her belly again, knowing full well why it was coming up.

Largo had gotten in that one, good shot... And no, we weren't _certain_ that she couldn't bear eggs... but there was still a very good chance that he'd left her barren.

Still...

Twilight growled back, ever as stubborn as his sister, and Sorylle glanced at me.

I looked over at Sylph. "Don't look at me. She doesn't seem inclined to go anywhere any time soon."

Sorylle was padding off a moment later.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Yeah, remember that chapter back in Re:A Spatial Tear where Dark was bitching about getting attacked by Largo and then Natalia was trying to console Sorylle but messed up and had to be coached through growling it properly? Yeah, I'd actually forgotten about that, for one simple reason._

 _(Semi-spoiler alert for something that will come up in about five Parts.)_

 _Sorylle is NOT barren. She got lucky. Largo hit her while she was still young enough and the scarring didn't affect her badly. I can safely say this because I've had it planned for some time that her granddaughter would be Kairi's partner in the Future Arcs, much like Sorylle is to Dark and Twilight is to Kairi in this time period._

 _Also a semi-spoiler: This is the last time we'll see Sorylle for a while. What does this mean? It means you'll have to wait until 8.1 get posted to start figuring out what happened. :P_


	54. Chapter 7-9 Part 54

_Okay, so... As of today (February 26), I owe you guys up through Part 60. Part 61 is due Tuesday._

 _Good news: I already have Part 61 written thanks to writing over 13k words in the last three days. It's currently 10am and I'm trying to manage a 30k weekend across my two main stories (AEtT and one of my Transfomers stories). To succeed in this endeavor, I still need to write 16k today. (So I will post this Part and Part 55 and get writing, because I'm wasting daylight.) (Edit from 3.5 hours later: So I got distracted, am just now posting this, and haven't written anything yet today. -is shot- At least it's laundry day and I have the next 4 hours to write. I can still succeed in my weekend goal.)  
_

 _Bad news: Parts 54 and 55 are the last two that have been copy-pasted from the main doc and sent to a beta already. So unless I can talk one of my Skype buddies into beta-reading for me, I'm SOL for a few weeks, as Tea/WeGotWinx is leaving for Spain tomorrow and will not be able to do any editing until she gets back. Fear not, you'll get all the chapters due to you before Camp NaNo April '17 starts._

 _So... enjoy! I need to go write. Badly._

* * *

" _Who'd ya think_ taught _him how ta sneak?" –Ifrit_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.9 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 54**

I had a headache. Such a headache...

Which might have explained why I was lazing around in bed.

I finally gave up after a few hours—by this point, Asch knew I wasn't going to die, at least—and let my eyes slide closed.

When I woke up again, the headache had abated, and Asch was sitting next to me, finally wearing something a bit more suited to traveling than the rather dressier clothes he'd _been_ wearing for the last few weeks.

I smiled. "So... I take it you're now free to get back to work with the rest of us?"

Asch jumped a bit, looked over at me, and nodded, offering up a small smile. "Yeah. Are you feeling alright, now? Or at least better?"

I nodded. "My head doesn't feel like it's been tap-danced on by elephants, at least."

Asch chuckled. "Still don't think I want to know what an elephant is."

I hummed. "I'll find it in me to draw one at some point. Right now..." I stifled a yawn and managed to pull myself out of bed. "Sun."

Asch just smirked, helped me up, and then shadowed me as I made my way outside, slowly finding the tree we'd spent one afternoon under, already.

I didn't quite lay under the tree. That would put me in the shade, and I needed the _sun_.

Asch ended up sitting against the tree, and for a while, it was quiet.

"So...Who's Lloyd?"

I blinked, looked over at Asch, and blinked some more. "Uh..."

"Remember you had a pretty bad fever at the start? You were muttering something about a Lloyd."

Oh.

I hummed and looked up at the clouds. "Well. Gee. Thanks. I hadn't remembered that, and now you've piqued my curiosity."

Asch grunt-groaned. "Well, you've got _me_ interested now, too."

I snickered. "Relax. No need to be jealous. He's five."

"Okay... And?"

I smiled. "He's sorta halfway not really trying to reform Danté?"

Asch spluttered. "What?!"

Taking that as an excuse to outright laugh at the oddness of the conversation, I looked over at Asch. "When the Monolith of Syal exploded, Syal and I were trying to save Danté. We succeeded, but he kinda got tossed to another world in the process. Lloyd found him, and managed to get attached in all of a couple hours. Although part of that might have been Noishe. Who isn't a liger, but apparently the language is close enough for he and Danté to talk to each other."

Asch watched me for a bit, then raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling something else has happened with Lloyd since then?"

I hummed. "Well, after the Keterburg mess, and after I'd explained, I kinda ended up in the TimeStream. That was the first time I saw Lloyd, so yes, I saw him _before_ I threw Danté to Aselia. Then just a little while ago, when Rem tore my mindscape apart, I was trying to find Danté to tell him something. Instead, I found Lloyd again." I stopped and frowned. "I should probably go find him again tonight. He's... He saw what Rem did to me, sort of. I can't imagine that was anything less than nightmare fuel, and for a five-year-old..."

Asch hummed. "Dark said, given the damage Rem could do to his mindscape, and yours..."

"Asch... I basically fell apart for no obvious reason," I said. "I'll go find him tonight. Regardless of whether Dirk and Danté can control the nightmares, I think Lloyd will need to actually _see_ me again for him to realize I'm fine."

The chuckles surprised me. Enough so that I looked over at Asch again, and spotted that familiar look. That one he always wore when I was being my usual, quirky self. "I'm not even sure I want to know how adoption across worlds works," Asch finally said.

I blinked a few times, then let a small smile show. "Yeah, guess I kinda have. I don't think you can blame me, though. Kid's got two fathers, an older brother or uncle figure in Danté, and... that's it."

Asch hummed. "Much as a lot of boys will deny it... You never realize how much of a presence your mother had raising you until..."

I sat up and managed to scoot over so I was sitting next to him, half-curled into his side.

"Well. I guess that brings the 'father' count up to an uneven three."

Asch blinked a few times, stared at me, and then turned about the same shade of red as his hair. "Um..."

"Hey, I think you'd do a great job..." I stopped and sighed. "This is probably gonna come out bad, but I can promise you'll do better than the kid's biological father, who currently thinks he's dead."

And there Asch went with the choke-splutter again. "Uh..."

I smiled and let my head fall to rest on his shoulder. "I'll... tell you the whole story later. Maybe after this sentience mess is dealt with."

"Ah hate ta have ta say it, but it ain't _mah_ mess."

My turn to choke.

Then I turned an amused but annoyed half-scowl on Ifrit. "It's bad enough we can't break Shadow of that. We don't need both of you doing it."

Ifrit grinned. "Who'd ya think _taught_ him how ta sneak?"

I raised an eyebrow. Interesting tidbit. "So... Who are you avoiding?"

Ifrit paused. "Eh... what makes ya think ah'm avoidin' someone?"

I smirked. "You're sneaking, which you don't do very often, you keep glancing around, and you're half-hiding back here. Who are you avoiding?"

The man, who was oddly shorter than me, ran a hand through the multitude of tiny braids in his hair. "Ah mighta said somethin' a little less than appropriate ta Natalia."

"Ah. Trying to avoid a trained assassin-turned-bodyguard-now-boyfriend. Yes. I can't blame you for the sneaking," Asch muttered.

I snorted. "You say that like Natalia wouldn't be shooting him."

"True."

"On the other hand, it's very possible they've both decided to ignore it," I added. Asch gave me an odd look, and I shrugged. "It's a Noir thing. Natalia's gotten downright terrifying since Noir tucked her under her wing. Which was Mohs' fault for trying to get her disowned."

Ifrit chuckled and sat down. "So... Ah dunno if Sylph's said anythin' yet. But there's more'n jus' the blizzard ova Baticul bein' a case o' weird weather."

I blinked. "Really? She hasn't mentioned anything to me..."

Ifrit nodded. "There's a spot in Northern... ah... Sylvanna? That the right name? Anyway, there's a warm spot there in the middle o' the snow."

I hummed. "So we should probably go see what sort of randomness Myno caused."

Asch gave me an odd look, and I shrugged. "What? He's a fire spirit. So it's probably his fault."

Ifrit chuckled. "Ah think ya might be right. Ah ain't done nothin' in that area, at least."

I nodded to myself, scooting back out into the sunlight, laying down, and closing my eyes. While I was utterly pissed with Rem at the moment, I needed the sunlight. Badly.

"Thought you said you were waiting to go find Lloyd until tonight."

"I am. I just feel like sunbathing, sorta." Not quite, I supposed. But sunlight was sunlight.

It helped me forget about the dark waters I always seemed to drown in when my mindscape was torn apart.

"Where's Dark?" He could use some sunlight, too.

"You know, now that you mention it..."

Uh-oh.

I groaned. Loudly.

Asch chuckled. "Sorry. I don't think I meant for it to come out that way."

I turned my head enough to shoot a glare his direction, and he shrugged. "I don't know. They're probably running around in the fortress again."

I reached out with my telepathy.

It had expanded enough again that from here, I could find everyone on Eldrant. And I do mean _everyone_.

"They're not on Eldrant," I stated.

"Maybe they went with one o' the Archive teams?" Ifrit suggested. I hummed. For some reason, I doubted that.

So, fastest way to answer the question...

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _I was in Dark's mindscape again, once again just hovering on the edges._

 _It didn't take him and Eraia long to find me, and I noted that Dark looked mildly guilty. "You need us?" he asked. I guessed 'us' meant him, Sorylle, and Natalia._

" _Not really, just wondering where you are," I replied. "Since I get the feeling you did_ not _go with the teams sent back out to the Archives."_

 _Dark nodded. "The Isle of Feres beached itself for a few hours. Twilight got all of the ligers off it before whatever machines cause it to float around got it unstuck and it floated off again."_

 _I smiled at the mention of my partner. I'd missed him... "He doing well?"_

 _Dark damn near grinned back. "Very well. He's a bit upset with me and Natalia for not bringing you along, though. Especially after we told him some of the nonsense you've gotten yourself into."_

 _I laughed. "Yeah. Suppose I really ought to be a bit more careful... On another note. You're getting plenty of sun, right?"_

 _Dark suddenly looked a bit baffled, but nodded. "Yeah. Natalia and I are on the same beach we saw the Western and Eastern Clans off from. Natalia's enjoying it. Sorylle's enjoying getting to hassle her mate and half-spoil the one litter of cubs he's sired."_

 _My smile pulled up into a full grin. "I take it you two have some means of getting back home, as well?"_

" _Yeah. It's called a Sylph."_

 _I snorted. "Alright. Have fun. Keep getting plenty of sunlight. Best prescription I can give if you've been messing around with the cracks in your mindscape. Especially since, as best I can tell from the fragmented memories I get when I pull you out of the abyss, yours is pure darkness. Mine's at least water, something I can avoid and, so to speak, burn out by sitting next to a fire."_

 _Dark nodded. "Right, thanks."_

" _I'll come by again if we need you two back before you're ready to return," I added, already pulling away._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I opened my eyes, blinked at Ifrit, and then tilted my head to the side. "What?"

"Ah'm still tryin' ta figure out how ya managed ta beat Rem."

I blinked. "What, the mindscape fights?" Ifrit nodded, and I shrugged and sat up. "Fairly easily. I don't know why she thought it was necessary, but Mom did train me enough in mindscapes to know what to do if mine got torn apart. The thing that typically kills people when their mindscapes are torn apart isn't actually the sudden destruction of their mindscape. It's..." I stopped and shook my head. "It's the abyss that's waiting underneath all of it. It's different for everyone, but... if there's an element to each mindscape, the abyss manifests as a dark version of the opposite element. Which, for Dark, whose mindscape is inherently light, means the abyss is just... darkness. Complete and utter darkness."

"Given your sudden need for sunlight, I'd guess yours isn't much better."

I grimaced. "More like an oceanic abyss. No light, but... Asch... I damn near _drown_ every time my mindscape falls apart. At the same time, I usually know exactly what's going on. So I can pull myself back up pretty quickly. It's... the confusion, that inability to figure out which way is up... _that_ is what usually kills people. And that's what I was teaching Dark to do. So, yeah. Sunlight. I typically try to light a fire while I'm at it, but in a pinch, or if I'm feeling lazy... sunlight."

Ifrit hummed and held out a hand that was, notably, on fire. I couldn't help it. My eyes locked on it, until it suddenly snuffed out and Ifrit sat down.

"Okay. _That_ felt weird."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Ifrit chuckled. "Ya didn't notice."

I just stared at him, and Asch looked just as baffled as I did.

Ifrit held out his hand again, and as usual after a round of my mindscape being torn apart, all I could really do was stare at the flames...

Except, Ifrit had felt something...

Since I was actually paying attention this time, I noticed it just before the flame snuffed out again, Ifrit rubbing his hand in a very familiar manner. I recognized it from when my own hand started _tickling_ , and it wouldn't go away.

I gave him a sheepish look. "Heh... Sorry? I... hadn't even realized I was doing that."

Ifrit chuckled. "It's fine. Jus' tickles. Ah guess 'at's mah own fault fo' not jus' settin' a fire. Ain't like we ain't got wood."

I smiled back, even as Asch continued giving us baffled looks. I smiled at him and shook my head. "Apparently I was right to tell Dark to get some sunlight. Looks like I pull more out of sitting around staring at fires than I realized."

Because that fire... I'd been pulling on it in a way that I hadn't even _noticed_ until Ifrit had suddenly reacted. I'd pulled on it, using it about as literally as I could to burn out the excess water in my soul, the water I'd come back from that damn abyss _soaked_ in.

I stood up and stretched.

The sunlight still felt good, but even just a little fire, even if it wasn't as much as I strictly wanted...

"Hey, Ifrit. Whaddya say we go check out that anomaly in Sylvanna now?" I asked. After all, it was still early afternoon. "Shouldn't be too much of an exertion."

Asch sighed. "And it's not like we can really do anything until the Archive teams come back again. Which reminds me, where are Dark and Natalia?"

"Northern Rugnica. No, they're not in the Archives, either. The Isle of Feres... uh... beached itself temporarily." Asch looked over and raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. "What? It did. Twilight and all the replica ligers got off and started reclaiming the Northern Forest."

Asch sighed. "Well. Guess it's good to know that they're getting a chance to rest," he said. "So... I guess... Keterburg?"

"Yeah. I kinda don't want to, because... you know. Snow. But it warrants investigating, at least," I replied. Ifrit stood up.

"Well. Wheneva ya ready."

I stood and looked at Asch. "Are you coming or would you rather stay here?"

Asch looked at me, then at Ifrit, then back to me.

Then he sighed. "I'll stay here. Just... stay out of trouble for once. Please?"

I smiled. "I make no promises, but I will certainly try," I replied. Trouble followed me around like a lost puppy looking for a new owner. Avoiding it was... difficult at best. Impossible at worst.

Ifrit chuckled. "Don' worry. Ah'll take care o' her. Kade'd kick mah ass if ah didn'. An' jus' so ya know, _that_ hurts."

I snorted. "I can imagine."

Asch just rolled his eyes. "Shoo."

Ifrit didn't need any more prompting.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Lloyd. And the comments up there about inter-world adoption._

 _This is going to be a large driving force in the spin-off (whenever I actually get around to fixing the massive mess Kvar and Danté made of things), and at the same time, almost completely invisible. Because the spin-off is written from_ Danté's _POV, and all he sees are glimpses of what's going on. Lloyd waking up after Kairi's mindscape is torn apart by Rem? There's Danté's first hint. Lloyd learning curve when training to dual wield when neither Dirk nor Danté is all that familiar with swords? Another massive hint._

 _We won't see the full extent of Kairi's influence until the crossover section between An Echo through Time: Future Arcs and A Twilight Star. It's... rather more than one would expect._


	55. Chapter 7-10 Part 55

_And here's Part 55._

* * *

" _Ah, yes. I seem to recall a certain crashing of a festival in Grand Chokmah." –Kairi_

" _Wha—You—We are not encouraging her!" –Asch_

* * *

 **Chapter 7.10 – Will o' the Wisp  
Part 55**

We landed in an open space in the remains of Keterburg, and I frowned. "Why...?"

"Sorreh. Ah... Ah noticed it about the same time ah noticed the warm spot north o' here," Ifrit said. "What... what happened here?"

I grimaced, memories of fire, falling ash and snow, and ligers racing through the streets flashing in front of my mind. "Zion. I... He wanted me to release the seals... So when I refused to cooperate, he started setting the entire town on fire." My feet were carrying me up the half-ruined steps to where the hotel had been.

Ifrit followed me, looking around with a grim expression on his face. "Ah..."

"Don't. Just..." I stopped in front of the memorial and crouched, eyes tracing out familiar names once again. "There were a lot less fatalities than there could have been. And we've got the ligers to thank for that."

Ifrit stood next to me. "Those names..."

"Everyone who died in the blazes. Most of them were in the hotel. There... there'd been a party. Gods... what the hell had I been thinking, racing after Zion in that damn _dress_?"

I didn't see the memorial stone anymore. I just saw the flames, the faces, everyone I'd seen on my frantic run to get to Nephry's manor, then to attack Zion.

"There's another burnt zone on Mt. Roneal," I said after what could have been a few minutes, or a few hours. I wasn't sure, so lost in the painful reminders of that night.

"Yea. What of it?"

" _I_ did that," I told him. "Lost control of my Energy Core. I was angry, and Zion had just killed Valon..." I let my head hang. "That kid didn't deserve it. I was right on the edge, and then my stabilizer broke. _That_ blaze killed four ligers, including one of the Clan Queens." My fingers brushed against Illeka's name.

Then, knowing full well that nothing would get done if I just sat here all day, I forced myself to my feet and looked at Ifrit. He was still looking around at the destruction, eyes lingering on the memorial every few moments.

Then he looked up at me, and smiled. "Well. Ah've seen worse." He let out a wry snort. "Ah've _dealt_ worse."

I hummed. "Ah, yes. I seem to recall a certain crashing of a festival in Grand Chokmah."

He chuckled. "An' that ain't even mah worst."

"I don't doubt," I replied, in a considerably better mood suddenly. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was sharing a pseudo-joke with the _embodiment_ of fire. "So... anomaly?"

Ifrit nodded, and fire engulfed us again.

This time, when it cleared, we'd landed in Nebillim's Crag.

Which was no longer 'decorated' with icy stalactites.

I gaped a bit as I looked around, and from Ifrit's murmured 'whoa', he was as awestruck as I was.

It was like someone had taken Tataroo Valley's flora and merged it with Aramis Spring, except it was _warm_. Undeniably so.

It was... a small patch of paradise. Beautiful, and totally secluded from the world. Not just within the Crag, either, from what I could see of the space just outside it.

I raced over to one of the rock walls and started climbing, looking to get a good look of everything from above. I stuck close to the edges of the Crag, and wasn't disappointed when I looked out over what had once been fields of solid ice and snow.

For roughly three miles all around the Crag, the ice and snow had given way to green prairies. It was... strange, and it left me breathless.

How did all of this get up here? The flowers, the grasses... this area had been covered in snow for so long, nothing should have still been alive.

One of Sylph's veela danced past me, then paused and turned, dancing in front of me for a bit before flying off, a multitude of seeds in its winds.

I smiled. Well. That answered that question. I wondered if Sylph was aware of what her veela were up to. After all, Ifrit may have assigned his hellhounds to help out in Daath, but that didn't mean he knew exactly what they were doing at all times. It was very unlikely that Sylph had realized her little monsters were helping to turn this sudden warm zone into a paradise.

"Heh... 'S amazing the amount of work a few veela and some eggbears can do, huh?"

Wait... Eggbears?

I glanced down, and was just in time to spot an eggbear almost delicately trailing its claws along the ground. Another veela, also carrying seeds in its winds, dropped the seeds in the careful gouges in the ground.

I smiled as the eggbear made a folding gesture with its paws, and the earth closed up again.

So _that_ was how they'd pulled this off.

"Myno's definitely got plenty o' influence in this area. He's the one keepin' it warm," Ifrit started. "An' any o' the monsters 'at come through 'ere... There 'is, now. Sorta. If Gnome 'an Sylph call 'em back, they'll go, but..."

I hummed. "They look like they're enjoying themselves, at least," I said. "And it's not like they don't have water. With all of the snow..."

"Yeah, they been usin' up a lotta it ta get the plants ta grow, but at least the ground ain't pure mud anymo'."

I nodded, looking around with a grin. "It's beautiful."

Ifrit just hummed, happy to stay up on the ledge with me and out of the way of the veela and eggbears. After all, the veela may have been informed that I was a friend, but I was a human, which meant the eggbears would want nothing to do with me.

At all.

"Wha' if we put the replicas _here_?" Ifrit asked. "Build a sanctuary."

I frowned, looking around at all of the plants. Though...

"The majority of the planting seems to be going on _inside_ the Crag still," I noted. "And we've got _miles_ of prairie out there."

"And another couple o' miles o' mud still, but they're gettin' there."

"We could probably build a small village just outside the Crag. Set it aside as a shrine to the lesser spirits, perhaps?"

Ifrit hummed. "Sounds like a good idea ta me. The six 'at kept us sealed, an' the others... They deserve the recognition. Just 'cause mah siblin's an' ah are the strongest seven, don't mean we're the _only_ sentient life born o' collected fonons. An' while most o' the minors are mixed fonons... well."

"Syal, Myno, the other four, and Kade, technically, would count on that level as well... They're different."

Ifrit grimaced. "Kade technically belongs on _our_ level," he said, the reluctance in his very tone telling me how much he _didn't_ want to admit to that. I hummed. I supposed he was right. Kade was a giant mass of contained miasma...

Which explained a lot about the whole 'Agent of the Miasma' title.

Kade _was_ the miasma.

"So, we move the replicas here to keep them safe from Rem, who knows they were at the top of the Tower, set the Crag aside as a shrine to the lesser spirits, and leave them be. Hopefully, the influence from Myno and the sheer amounts of veela will keep Gnome away."

"Assumin' we even need ta worry 'bout that. Gnome hates humans as they've become... He didn' used ta, an' ah doubt he'd bother the replicas if they mind their own business."

I hummed. "Well, shall we head back to Eldrant? We know what's going on here, now..."

Ifrit nodded. "Yeah. Betta tell Asch or someone 'bout it so we can get the replicas moved." He reached over and rested an arm around my shoulders. A moment later, we were enveloped in flames, and when they cleared, we were back right where we'd left from.

And Guy was scrambling away, looking half-panicked before he recognized me and Ifrit.

At which point, he sighed. "Guess that's my own fault for sitting over here. You and Asch did kinda claim this tree for yourselves..."

I snorted. "Speaking of Asch, where'd he run off to?"

"Uh, pretty sure Jade wanted to talk to him about something," Guy said. "Why?"

I hummed. "Might as well come with us. Depending on how many sentiences we feel like dragging into this, it might take a while. Though, credit to Lorelei for managing to get all of them from the top level of the Tower to a lower level."

"Huh? Are we moving the replicas again?" Guy asked.

I smiled and started walking, field expanding over Eldrant as I worked on pinpointing Asch and Jade. Who were already standing right next to each other. Along with Peony and Luke.

Curses.

"I think Luke and Jade found something. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a congregation of nobles and generals all in one spot," I mused. "And yes, we're moving them. Too high a risk of Rem simply destroying the Tower if she thinks it could harbor humans within."

"Good point. But they already said—"

"They'd like to stay autonomous. I know. That's why we're going to send them to the little sanctuary Myno seems to be spearheading the creation of. And on _that_ note, where's Anise? If we're going to do that, we should probably talk to Myno, and I didn't think to go down to the remains of his monolith to ask while we were there." I paused. "Then again, eggbears."

Ifrit chuckled at the utterly baffled look Guy was wearing, and I sighed, a smile at the corner of my lips. "Come on. I'd really rather not try to explain this more than once," I said, leading the way to Asch and the others. From the less-than-subtle but not-quite-active nudges against my field, I figured Asch was using it to keep tabs on me just like I was using it to find him.

It was interesting, and something I'd have to ask him about sometime.

We managed to pick up Selenia and Anise along the way, much to my amusement. Somehow, while those two had started off eternally at odds, they'd become good friends recently. Notably _after_ the Grand Chokmah argument, but still...

"Anise? Do you mind if I talk to Myno for a moment?" I asked. Anise blinked up at me, then handed over her new mace a bit reluctantly.

"I still haven't figured out how to summon him yet," she murmured. I smiled.

"That's alright, it shouldn't take me long," I replied, accepting the weapon and _listening_.

' _You don't need to ask permission. I heard most of that thanks to Ifrit,'_ Myno said. _'I think it's a great idea. Not quite what I had in mind, but still an excellent idea...'_ There was a moment's pause, and I got the impression that he had something else he wanted to say. _'Ah... Can I pick the name?'_

I hummed. *Got something in mind?* I asked, using the physical contact with Anise's mace to work as a conductor for my telepathy.

' _Oh, neat trick. And, um...'_ He sighed. _'Not really?'_

*You just want the final say in it,* I murmured, amused. *Well, given the apparent love of Norse Mythology in the Tales games, I guess that'd be a good place for me to start with suggestions...*

' _Anything come to mind when I say green?'_ Myno asked.

I snorted. Because the first thing that came to mind was _Loki_.

Though...

Running through the names of the other Asgardians that had been shown in the Thor movie, I smiled. *What about Fandral?*

I could practically _see_ Myno jumping. _'Perfect!'_

I chuckled. *All things considered, I think so too,* I replied. Then, carefully pulling away mentally, I handed the mace back over to Anise. "Thanks."

It didn't take us too much longer to get to where Asch was, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"Hey. What'd I miss?" I asked.

I spotted the shadows lengthening just before Shadow materialized and crossed his arms. "Gnome's started using the eggbears to control the other monsters. It sounds like he's about to mount an attack on St. Binah..."

He was silent for a moment, glancing around worriedly, and when Myre dropped down from where she'd been hiding on the ledge up above, I realized what this meant.

"I guess... this was about where things started going to hell in a handbasket before?" I asked.

Myre grimaced. "'Hell in a handbasket' was back in Baticul. This... this is a lot of little demon children realizing there's toys to play with."

I snorted. Well, that analogy was rapidly spiraling out of control.

"Noted. So, a few things... Where's Lorelei, who's coming with us to the Tower of Rem so we can relocate the replicas, and how fast do we have to get that done so I can jump into the fight at St. Binah? Because I'm overdue a good long slaughter session."

Asch twisted his head around at what had to be an uncomfortable angle to give me an odd look, and I smiled. "What? I'm bored."

A solid-sounding _smack!_ had me glancing around, and somehow, the fact that it was _Myre_ facepalming told me almost as much as the small smile I could see past her arm did.

"Lorelei was right. You are all sorts of unpredictable and that _might_ just be enough to trip Gnome up."

Jade adjusted his glasses and sighed. "I suggest you find some clothes you don't mind getting ruined, then. If I remember correctly, you tend to leave _bloodbaths_ in your wake when we unleash you in the middle of a large group."

Asch made a choking sound. "Wha—You—We are not encouraging her!"

I hummed. "So... you're going to stop your bored-as-hell girlfriend from slaughtering monsters because... why?"

"One, bored-as-hell _fiancé._ " Ooh, finally finalized, huh? "I'd really like you to live long enough for me to marry you. Two... I thought the point of not forcibly altering your mindscape again was to keep you mostly sane?"

"Asch, love... If you wanted me to act _sane_ , you should have let me put the meadows and night sky back. The lovely _volcanic plains_ are the source of what comes out to play when I launch bloodbaths like these. Besides, me going psycho on the monsters is a good thing. I'm not going psycho on the poor innocent humans."

Asch was silent for a moment.

"There is something _really_ sideways somewhere in your head, isn't there?"

The chuckle that followed that was demonic enough to have everyone looking at me worriedly.

"Box up the monster, put on the mask, and no one will ever know it's there. Do it in reverse, and suddenly the monster's all that's left. Stop halfway... and you end up with people like me and Jade," I replied. "Yes. There's something very much broken somewhere in my head. And that cage isn't perfect. Best to just point the monster in the right direction and watch."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Credit to black k kat's 'reverse' for that last line. That is an amazing Naruto story, and deserves recognition. (Also, those should be periods, not spaces, but the site registers it as a link otherwise, because it's dumb.)  
_

 _On a totally different note... Ifrit has a line in this chapter that is important. Very important._

"Syal, Myno, the other four, and Kade, technically, would count on that level as well... They're different."

Ifrit grimaced. "Kade technically belongs on our level," he said, the reluctance in his very tone telling me how much he didn't want to admit to that.

 _...Yeah. That line. Right there._

 _That is going to become very important in about two chapters. Because remember that imbalance Myre mentioned earlier due to Lorelei remaining unsealed? Mm-hm. –nods and wanders off to continue plotting-_


	56. Chapter 8-1 Part 56

_Here's Part 56. 63 is due today and 64 is due this Friday (not happening yet, sadly), but I've gotten up to 68 written now, at least. (Forcing myself to write 50k words for AEtT EVERY month apparently helps lots. Especially when my brain rationalizes that writing the required 1,700ish words a day should only take me 40 minutes, or two 20min sessions. So far, been able to keep up. Fell behind twice because I've got two stories I'm focusing on this month, AEtT (50k) and Nocturne: Twisted (25k), but I got caught up the next day in whichever story I fell behind in, so... Yeah. All of the March updates are now written. By the time April Camp gets here, I should be caught up for a couple of months' worth of updates._

 _Which is a good thing, because, as I think I've mentioned before, I'll be side-lining AEtT for April. Mostly because I need to write the rest of the outline._

 _I will also be posting a new set of side-stories for the Ripple series soon, so be on the lookout for that. Especially if, like me, you're really starting to miss Reighn._

 _Okay, enough of that._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

" _What time is it now, where is my fiancé, and is there any particular manner in which you would like to die for impersonating him?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.1 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 56**

I was up on the observation deck in the branches of the Soil Tree when Myre teleported in next to me. She'd been jumping around all over the place here lately, and I rolled my eyes as she jumped upon spotting me.

"I was here first," I said, perhaps a bit childishly.

She blinked at me, then offered up a small smile. "You know... For a long while there, I didn't think I'd ever actually say this. I missed you, Kairi."

I smiled, but the moment was shattered a moment later when the world started shaking. Cracks appeared, spreading from those already surrounding St. Binah, and Myre gasped. "He's here!"

"Yeah, I can see that," I replied automatically, eyes catching on the giant badger that had just clawed his way up out of the ground. I ignored the scowl Myre shot my direction for the sarcasm, and instead simply headed down the ladder, grateful that it was a metal one and not wooden, as that meant I could simply slide down it almost like a fireman pole.

Trying to do that on a wooden ladder would have gotten me a _lot_ of splinters in my hands.

My current outfit didn't have gloves, after all. Seeing as I'd done as suggested and scrounged up some clothes from some of the refugees.

I was off and running quickly, barely noticing the soldiers running around.

We'd known that Gnome was coming, but we'd thought we'd have more time... It looked like Gnome realized we were trying to build up our defenses in preparation for his attack.

Asch ran past me, pressing Phaïe's Song into my hands as he went. "Cantabile said that'll balance better with Silver Clematis. She'll take it back after this is over!" he called over his shoulder as he took off for the Kimlascan troops we'd brought with us.

"Don't die!"

"You either!"

I'd just made it to the gates when Dark ran—or rather, rode—up with Twilight.

Wait, Twilight?

"Sorylle stayed with the pack in Northern Rugnica. And if you think we're letting you run out there on your own, you are out of your gods-damned mind!" Dark shouted, reaching down and pulling me up behind him even as Twilight, with an ease born of months of practice, latched onto the telepathic field I always kept down. Images and thoughts nudged their way into my mind, and Twilight's message formed easily.

*The three of us need to open up an path for the mages and their protectors to get into the center.*

"Noted. Just keep in mind that I tend to aim for the highest concentration of enemies I can find when I'm in the middle of a slaughter like this," I replied.

"So we're basically on herding duty," Dark muttered. "Thrill..."

Twilight growled a warning, and I glanced around. It looked like he wouldn't be able to just _dodge_ the monsters much longer.

With the ligers and the replicas, I'd had a barrier between me and that part of me that was actually _enjoying_ the bloodbath. I also hadn't consciously released it. I'd just been trying to survive, after all, and that had nothing to do with practically destroying the groups that attacked me.

This time...

This time, I was angry, and just as protective as I'd been before.

The Eastern Clan. Ari's and my own weakened platoons. St. Binah and her citizens.

I snarled, a sound echoed by Dark and Twilight both, and then Twilight dug his claws into the ground.

Dark and I shifted with the movement, allowing Twilight to effectively throw us off, and the both of us hit the ground running, Dark launching into a spin with the White Lotus chakrams even as Silver Clematis felled the first monster—rhinossus, not an eggbear—and Phaïe's Song came around behind it to be buried in the next monster.

Twist, slash, stab, spin, Guardian's Pain while I was at it, Glacial Havoc courtesy of Phaïe's Song, and back to slashing.

I was only vaguely aware of the fact that I was grinning.

Everything was sharp, clear, something that had never happened before. I'd been fighting on pure instinct before, but now... I wasn't quite _thinking_ as I fought, but I had more control over my actions.

Monsters didn't bleed as much as humans or replica humans did, but they did bleed. Part of me recognized that I should be disgusted by the blood I was quickly managing to coat myself in, and even as Phaïe's Song tore through the neck of another rhinossus and more blood splattered across my leg, I couldn't bring myself to care.

Silver Clematis was _singing_ in anticipation of the next monster it would kill. Phaïe's Song had _screamed_ a war cry to my ears.

In the back of my mind, where I was idly keeping track of Twilight and Dark, I admitted that they were doing a _very_ good job of herding me, because I'd spoken the truth. My attacks tended to cover a wide area, as both blades were a few inches longer than the average katana, and Guardian's Pain, Glacial Havoc, and ZelDelQues were _not_ artes that they wanted to be in the line of fire for when I was like this.

Green flashed in my peripheral vision, and for a minute, I ignored it.

Then it appeared again, as something green barreling toward me.

I was in the middle of a spin, ready and willing to cut whatever it was out of the air with Silver Clematis, when recognition finally pushed the monster back.

Silver Clematis vanished from my hand, and my grip on Phaïe's Song shifted into a reverse grip as I let momentum spin me further than I'd initially intended.

Sync leapt over me, and I stopped my spin and shifted to spin back around, grip correcting once again.

I'd turned just fast enough to block a Reaper's Toll.

I snarled, my own rage and the odd bloodlust I'd been unleashing on the field mingling in an oddly disturbing way.

Still, it wasn't Sync's fault, and even if Gnome had had him single me out, that was fine. Even if the rest of the enemies around me were still going full force, trying to kill me even as I slaughtered them and danced around Sync's attacks, that was fine too.

Something sparked in Sync's eyes, and I twisted, grateful that I'd already 'dropped' Silver Clematis and grabbing an unsuspecting eggbear by the arm. The monster was thrown at Sync, and a White Tempest, notably a _wind_ -elemental attack, killed it.

Sync was _smirking_ , and then suddenly he wasn't, but that was alright.

I nudged Twilight and shoved a wordless order at him, and the liger roared from his position almost a hundred yards to my right.

A lightning attack shot past me, killing a good number of monsters and wounding more, and Sync was forced to flip back to avoid the attack.

I re-summoned Silver Clematis and spun, tearing through more monsters. I could see fonic artes flying all over the place, and as much as I loved fire, I knew that the Infernal Prison landing right next to me was as good a sign as any that I needed to move on.

I dared to shoot a glance at Sync, and smirked when I saw another White Tempest tear through not one, but _three_ eggbears.

That was immediately followed up by a Reaper's Toll aimed at Twilight, who was more than happy to dodge and find another monster or five to throw Sync's way.

Sync was fighting back as best he could, which might have explained a lot of why I was cackling when Dark caught up to me, the White Lotus chakrams killing just as many monsters as my blades and Guardian's Pains were.

"Remind me never to volunteer for demon-sitting duty again," Dark muttered. "You're actually managing to terrify me."

I didn't answer him, simply ran at the next group of monsters. Gnome, like the replicas that had attacked us in Northern Chesedonia, was realizing that I was a very dangerous enemy to let loose on a large amount of monsters, and the crowds were trying to thin out and get away from me.

Sadly, this particular battlefield was _packed_ , and finding the largest group nearby typically only took me a few seconds.

I hadn't been counting bodies, hadn't paid any attention to the destruction I'd left behind me, nor had I realized how _long_ I'd been out there.

It wasn't until Dark slipped inside my guard and managed a solid strike against the back of my head that I stopped, because this hadn't just been a fight to protect. It had been a slaughter, and a part of me had enjoyed it, had been having _fun_. I hadn't intended to stop any time soon, but I'd needed to, and Dark had realized it before I had.

I woke up to darkness, and sore muscles, and a 'pillow' with fur that smelled of ozone, charcoal, and herbs.

Twilight.

I groaned slightly as the memories of the last few hours slowly filtered back in, and then groaned again.

Yeah... Letting go on a battlefield like that was a _bad_ idea.

"Back in the land of living, huh?"

I blinked a few times, then managed to spot Asch, sitting a few feet away. Bandages wrapped around one arm, and there was a gash in his coat that showed off _more_ bandages. His hair was braided down his back, as well.

I sat up and started looking over my own injuries. Mostly just a few scrapes here and there, plenty of bruising...

"How badly are we getting killed out there?" I asked, more than capable of hearing the battle still raging outside St. Binah's walls.

"Not as badly as most of the generals thought we would be. When you said 'slaughter', I don't think _any_ of us realized you meant _slaughter._ "

"It wasn't as bad with the ligers or Northern Rugnica. There was... there was still a bit of a restraint there. It was just..." I shook my head. "Protect, survive. _This_... This was..." I grimaced. "Fun. See how quickly I could kill it all dead."

"Dark might have mentioned you were cackling at one point."

"Nobody's accidentally killed Sync, have they?"

There was a long moment of silence, followed by Asch glancing over at me. "Sync was..."

"Yup. And managing to White Tempest every eggbear Twilight threw at him. Mind, he was Reaper's Tolling Twilight every time he got too close, but still..."

Asch was quiet for a moment. Then he snorted. "Gnome needs to keep a better watch on his puppets. Sync keeps that up for long, he'll be doing our work for us."

I snorted. "Asch. You realize White Tempest is a wind-elemental attack, right? Means Sync's stopped _outright_ fighting Gnome's control and is instead worming around him. Doesn't mean it's perfect, though."

"No, but it's a start," Asch muttered. "So... You are under orders from Tear not to go out again until the sun is well in the sky. She'd prefer to say 'tomorrow,' but we all know you're going to flip that idea the finger and go back to slaughtering monsters whether we like it or not, so she's reluctantly conceded to nine in the morning."

I glanced at the window, noting that it was still quite dark outside.

"What time is it now, where is my fiancé, and is there any particular manner in which you would like to die for impersonating him?"

Maybe I should have timed that better, because Asch had been _trying_ to drink what looked like the remains of a glass of water when I'd spoken, and the water ended up on the floor afterward.

I scooted down the foot of the bed and rubbed his back a bit as he continued coughing, and he shot me a look. "You are going to be the death of me. Intentionally or not," he grumbled in fond exasperation. "It's just past five, and I'm up because Jade, the jerk, decided he was done babysitting your snoozing ass and came in to drop a Splash on me."

That explained why his hair was braided. And wet.

"Remind me to Splash _his_ ass tomorrow morning."

"Oh please do," Asch muttered. "Anyway, yeah. No fighting again until nine. Okay?"

I sighed, and wasn't sure if that was exasperation or disappointment lacing the sound. "Alright. Promise. I'm not overly fond of the prospect of getting myself killed, either."

I stood up, avoiding the water and spit on the floor from Asch nearly choking, and managed to find the boots I'd commandeered the morning before.

Once I was dressed, I headed for the Soil Tree again. It was still early, very early, and though Asch walked along behind me, I knew that he didn't really want to be here. He hated to be up while it was still dark.

Moving through the shadows was natural for me, something I'd done for ages. The world was dark, and while it was still dark, it was still my playground, a place for me to run around and enjoy myself before the world decided to wake up and make me act like a sane adult.

Myre was already up on the observation platform when Asch and I got up there. Her eyes were locked on the ongoing battle, and they only darted to me for a second before returning to the battlefield.

"You did a lot of damage out there yesterday," she murmured. "And to think, that was just two hours."

Two hours? That was how long I'd been fighting the monsters out there with just Dark and Twilight to back me up? And even then, I couldn't really count Twilight when he'd been keeping Sync distracted for most of that time.

I crossed my arms, looking for Sync's green hair as best I could.

It looked to me like he'd been removed from the battlefield, at least from what I could tell from this far away. I couldn't see his rather distinctive hair and outfit at least, and I knew there hadn't been enough blood on that white coat for it to be dyed the color. Not enough to hide him.

So Gnome had called him back... it was either because he'd noticed Sync worming around his orders, or because he knew that Sync needed to rest, puppet or not. An exhausted puppet was one that would die because it couldn't move fast enough.

Star had found that out the hard way at the Tower of Rem.

I hummed. "So... You helped out?"

"Oh, didn't you notice me trying to get your attention? Or maybe the _three_ Spreads you damn near ran straight into?"

Oh, those water artes had been hers?

I voiced the thought, and she and Asch both face-palmed. I shrugged. "What? I told Dark that he and Twilight were on herding duty, sort of. Basically."

They just sighed.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So, now we start to see a few of the more obvious effects of Kairi no longer warping her mindscape._

 _Remember how with the ligers and replicas, Kairi was not only fully capable of thinking around the fight (to the point where she had a conversation with Hue and Ari while fighting the replicas), but we also saw how tired she was afterwards?_

 _A large part of that was_ emotional _exhaustion before. It_ hurt _to kill that many ligers/replicas. And even if these aren't liger-intelligence-level monsters... it's still life. Which means leading a slaughter like this should still be affecting her..._

 _Except it isn't._

 _Fire is passion, something Kairi needs to draw on if she's going pull up the will to protect St. Binah. It's also her primary element. Water, its opposite, is empathy... And with her_ extremely _fire-elemental mindscape no longer hidden, the fire's burned out a LOT of that empathy. It's not really good for her, but that's a large part of why she's still so very stubbornly hanging onto Asch. Because, much as he tries to hide it, he's a water elemental._


	57. Chapter 8-2 Part 57

_Alright, here's another one... Yes, multiple updates in a single day. Because, let's face it, if I owe you guys up through 66 and just posted 56 a moment ago? I really need to get a move on.  
_

 _This one's got a scene in it that I always find hilarious, even though it's in the middle of the battle. You'll know it when you read it. (It kinda gives you that mental image of Undine being that little kid trying to take a cookie from the jar, getting caught, and trying to put it back and pretend she didn't do anything wrong. Even though, you know, everybody already knows because Kairi kinda started shouting about it.)_

 _Anyway, moving on!_

* * *

" _Uh... Are we allowed to call this a win against Gnome? Considering he kinda, you know... ran?" -Myre_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.2 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 57**

Asch had joined Dark and Twilight on herding duty.

Mostly because he seemed to do a better job of it. My connection to Kade, and Kade's connection to Asch, meant that Kade was basically keeping me going in the opposite direction of wherever Asch was.

I was getting too close to the fonists or the main group of soldiers? Asch would get between me and them and then start moving toward me.

I needed to be _closer_ to the fonists to help clear the way for them to get through to another area of the battlefield. Asch would keep himself in the opposite direction of where I needed to go.

Dark and Twilight were just there for damage control now, it looked like.

Asch did his best not to cringe every time he caught me giggling, or when he spotted me grinning as I tore through the monsters, but I saw it anyway. I knew what I was, knew that he didn't like seeing me like this, but...

"Destruction Field!"

But, he was staying as close to me as he could without that odd sense from Kade driving me off in one direction or another. And... I couldn't help but let that fuel me as well.

The anger, the hatred, the protective surge, that all made me deadly enough...

Asch loved me enough to stay by my side, even if I was in the middle of showing off the monster I really was in the most brutal way possible. And for that...

An eggbear was sneaking up on him.

Suddenly there didn't seem to be enough monsters between me and it. Because I was right _there_ , and the eggbear was dead, and then I was shooting off, away from Asch again, because _damn_ having Ultimatus that close felt strange in a fight like this...

Kade seemed to be reveling in the bloodshed as well, and it was just a bloody cycle of attacking, killing, grinning, moving on, and doing it again.

And Asch followed me the whole time. Pushed me when I needed to change direction.

Something inside, something within the _monster_ that tried to call itself Kairi Balfour, seemed to be healing with every monster I killed that was aiming for Asch, every eggbear whose claw-swing would have decapitated him.

Asch was _mine._

I was grinning as Asch pushed us straight out of the main fighting and into a clearing.

A clearing that just happened to have Gnome within it, in human form currently.

The rapidly-becoming familiar man turned and frowned at me.

"You..."

Kade was shoving at me, and I could _hear_ Asch, feel him right next to me...

The monster stood its ground.

"You are a very dangerous human, aren't you...?" Gnome murmured, obviously not meaning for me to actually hear.

My grips on my swords shifted slightly, and I scowled. Words... there weren't any words for this.

Gnome's eyes narrowed, lingering on the blades hanging from my hands as they raked over me...

I knew what he saw. The same woman who had stood her ground against him at Nebillim's Crag, except with none of her restraint. Two swords as opposed to the one I'd used there, and utterly soaked in blood.

Gnome glanced to my right, to where Asch still stood, Ultimatus firmly held in one hand, the tip currently resting against the ground.

He'd shift back to a two-handed grip the minute he needed to attack, but for right now, he was still trying to get me to _leave_ , it looked like.

Not something I was moving to do very quickly.

Dark and Twilight finally caught up to us, and Dark growled a few curses, idly spinning his chakrams.

Gnome glanced at Dark, then back at me, then at Asch.

Then at Dark again, because Dark was wearing his uniform _again_ , something he'd done mostly to spite the Kimlascan Advisory Council. He seemed about to say something, before my secondary Talent screamed at me.

Silver Clematis vanished, and I spun and ducked.

Sync pushed off against Phaïe's Song and flipped over my head, landing in front of Gnome, lifeless brown eyes locked on me.

Twilight grumbled out something along the lines of 'dammit, thought that would last longer' just before Gnome seemed to decide not to stick around. The earth swallowed him up, and the 'safe zone' around us collapsed, monsters surging inward.

Thankfully, the surge of monsters distracted Sync, _our_ Sync pulling out more than a few White Tempests and a Turbulence at one point.

I just used it as an excuse to summon Silver Clematis back to my hand and launch into another bloodbath.

I didn't really pay attention to where Sync was. Twilight and Dark were back to herding him into the monsters, and Asch seemed to be grateful that he was even _capable_ of herding me again. I think those few minutes when I wouldn't move worried him more than anything. After all, if he couldn't get me to move, he couldn't get me away from the biggest threat on the battlefield.

I suppose he was probably grateful that Gnome had left on his own as soon as Sync had shown up, but I wasn't.

Gnome had been about to say something.

Kade seemed to realize that I wanted to get to Gnome again, and that odd sense that always told me where Asch was expanded, and I suddenly had two odd _pulls_ that were in two different places, but both nearby. The closer one felt sturdy, _strong_ , and stubborn as hell.

Gnome.

The other... the other was still wounded in feeling, weak, but flowing, shifting...

Undine. She was hovering on the edge of the battle, the very edges, too far away to be attacked by either side, but too close to be doing anything other than watching.

She was watching the battle. So she was seeing this too. Seeing me tearing through the monsters like there was nothing there at all.

I didn't care. I was _angry_. And St. Binah didn't deserve this...

Selenia, Myre... they didn't deserve this.

Speaking of Myre...

The sheer amount of information I was able to process was astounding, I realized suddenly, even as I killed another five monsters with a well-timed Guardian's Pain.

Myre was running up, trying to catch up to Asch. Twilight and Dark were working together, more monsters simply collapsing around them as Eraia worked the only way she could until Dark figured out how to summon her, by tearing at the weak pseudo-Energy Cores within the monsters.

I jumped up for a Glacial Havoc, spotted Undine for a split second, and wasn't really surprised when my Havoc Strike actually came out as a Havoc Strike.

The sudden lack of fourth fonons in the area made it impossible for even Phaïe's Song to mutate my artes.

That was fine by me.

I managed to sort of stay in one area, laying down three anchors without even thinking about it, and simply stayed in the middle of them, killing anything stupid enough to try attacking me.

The second the anchors were ready, I unleashed another Guardian's Pain, and then pulled in the first charged anchor.

"Infernal Prison!"

The flames were blue-violet, and just as deadly as the rest of my attacks were, because that violet had come from the _miasma_.

Another Infernal Prison killed almost a dozen chirpees—good riddance!—and I pulled in the third, decidedly stronger anchor.

This was one I actually needed to take the time to cast.

My typical green casting glyph was stained an almost gold color, with the edges of the gold the dark maroon of the miasma, even as the fifth fonons raged around me. "Roar, o conflagration, and command all impure souls to their ashen end!" I chanted, feeling the fonons _reacting_ , and I could feel a bit of a power boost from Kade, helping to fuel my arte, and keeping my energy levels plenty high enough to continue fighting even after this... "Ancient Nova!"

The forbidden arte was forbidden for a reason. It didn't tend to discriminate between friend and foe.

So it was a very good thing that there were no friends in the midst of the mass of monsters between me and where Gnome was right now.

I felt, through Phaïe's Song, as the fourth fonons that had abandoned the battlefield before suddenly came raging back, and smirked.

Yeah. That's why you don't do that, Undine. I've handicapped myself by bringing Phaïe's Song with me into the middle of a fight.

Asch snorted. "Okay. I _felt_ that."

And it looked like Asch realized the exact same thing Undine had.

Pulling the fourth fonons out just _helped_ me. I was fire-elemental. Phaïe's Song was not helpful to me in the least.

Still, I'd managed to mostly clear the path to Gnome with that Ancient Nova...

I was racing across the fields, Asch right on my heels and Myre behind him, the two of them taking out anything that dared try to attack me from behind, even as I killed anything that tried to hit _them_ from behind. The three of us moved, not even waiting for Dark and Twilight, except that Dark was already catching up to us, Twilight nowhere in sight.

I was mildly worried about the fact that Twilight was without backup in the middle of the monsters, except that nothing was simply dropping dead around Dark.

Which meant Eraia was still back with Twilight and he was trying to get to us on his own.

I launched an Ice Fang, and Dark shot a relieved look over his shoulder as it exploded near him.

It didn't take him much longer to catch up to the three of us. Myre shot him an amused look, then gestured to me and said something.

I didn't hear it, nor did I hear Dark's response, if he actually replied. I was far more preoccupied with the monsters around me, and especially the ones between me and Gnome. Kade helped me keep track of Asch and Dark, and though I could feel a distinct level of dislike... Myre suddenly yelped, then laughed, and could I sense her suddenly as well...

A glance told me all I needed to know.

Myre had Gray Larkspur back.

I smiled for a split second before launching another Ice Fang and racing after the homing ice bomb.

It exploded, killing one already-weakened monster, and I was more than happy to kill the rest of the monsters in the area.

The area cleared again, and my opponent was suddenly humanoid, with far more of a likeness to Hugo Weaving than I preferred, but at the moment, I really didn't care.

I spun under a slash, and then started in on an offense of my own, not wanting to give Gnome enough time to cast.

The man danced around me, and I around him, and Myre, Asch, and Dark were left to finish clearing out the monsters still inside the ring of rock Gnome had raised to trap the four of us.

Dark was the first to finish killing off his section of monsters, and he unleashed a Stardust Rain on the area where Gnome and I were.

Kade shoved at me, and I jumped back, managing to _mostly_ dodge the attack... Which, for some reason, wasn't simply passing me by harmlessly as it normally did.

Odd.

Light-elemental artes were the easiest to force into not becoming friendly fire.

Asch's Icicle Rain was the next, before he rather wisely switched over to Thunder Blade when Undine, still trying to manipulate things from the sidelines, managed to redirect it to hit Dark instead.

Huh. Wise choice in which of us to redirect it to.

Phaïe's Song nullified water-elemental attacks, and Myre was still dancing through the last of the monsters, Gray Larkspur singing through the air like an old friend, which it really was.

Gnome scowled when Dark's next light-elemental attack, Ray, struck just as truly as Stardust Rain had.

The man then had to dodge my attacks.

Dark unleashed a Devil's Wing next, and this one, Kade didn't shove at me to avoid.

This one didn't just not hurt me, it allowed me to add a bit of miasma into it.

Gnome growled, and the shockwave he let out sent me flying back again.

Something rather reminiscent of Gravity Well distracted Dark from casting another Devil's Wing, and Asch scowled.

"We need to get out of here!" he grumbled, giving me a pointed look. Well, I supposed I _had_ been driving them toward Gnome...

But I wasn't ready to retreat just yet. Myre didn't look real happy with that suggestion either, and I had a feeling she or Asch would be our way out, since we were kinda trapped, thanks to Gnome.

"Fools! You, especially!" he started, glaring at me and me alone. "You know not the power you vield!"

I snarled and ran forward, spinning into a Guardian's Pain.

Gnome didn't dodge it, didn't even try.

I felt the burn of the miasma in my body, and remembered—late—that it typically manifested as a _second fonon_ FoF mutation.

That miasma shot back out of my body in an ominous maroon cloud, and Gnome's eyes went wide before he hissed.

I growled. "You think I don't understand what I've been given?"

Gnome had retreated to the far side of the little arena he'd formed, and Dark, Myre, and Asch were staying well away from him, happy enough to leave me and my miasma cloud alone in the middle of the space.

"Then Rem vas correct. You truly are one of _those_."

My eyes narrowed. "One of what?" If he was referring to the fact that I'd just torn through the whole damn battlefield, he was a bit late to be making the observation that I was a monster.

Gnome growled out a few curses of his own, and then took another step back, half-fusing with the 'arena' wall. "If you do not know, you vill never fully control that power. You vill do our vork for us."

I snorted. "Burn in hell."

"The Clans knew better, once. Vhen did they stop being the sources of knowledge they were meant to be, one must vonder..."

And then Gnome was gone.

I forced down the bloodthirsty monster and laid down a telepathic field, reaching outward.

There was Undine, retreating now...

Gnome and Sync were gone. Twilight and Eraia were fighting their way over to the main forces.

"Uh... Are we allowed to call this a win against Gnome? Considering he kinda, you know... ran?"

Dark shot an unamused look at Myre, and I shook my head.

"He'll be back. And he's given me something to set the researchers to looking into."

"Ooh, capable of intelligent speech again?"

I gave Myre an odd look, and Asch sighed. "Speech tends to not get through to you when you're like that. Hand gestures, motions, that works. Words? Words are static."

I sighed. "Ye who walk the path of bacon..."

"Uh... _What?!_ "

Cue near-hysterical laughter.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _And that line is a bit of a reference to Vathara's Embers. (An excellent read in the Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom, but really, even if you don't know the fandom well, you should go read it. It is marvelously written. The massive Author's Notes on cultural and historical backgrounds are very informative as well, and... –is smacked- Okay, I'll shut up.)_

 _Well, Embers, and also the TVTropes page. The one on Blue and Orange Morality, specifically, which includes a passage from that story about the dragons of Embers. Also on the Blue and Orange Morality page is this lovely little... thing, which is what spawned the line._

" _Ye who walk the path of bacon shall be with dinner blessed. Ye who walk the path of necktie shall be for dinner dressed."_

 _This is something that will be coming up again later, though more than likely not in AEtT itself._


	58. Chapter 8-3 Part 58

_Whoo! On a roll! This will be the last one for today.  
_

 _And Aerith's quote just kinda sums up the whole last part of the chapter._

* * *

" _And, um... Glowing water." –Aerith_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.3 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 58**

The return to Eldrant was a triumphant one, as the monsters had simply given up the assault after Gnome and Undine had retreated. Without anything spurring them on, they simply attacked whatever was closest, which was often enough the other monsters. It would be a simple matter for the Malkuth Military to finish cleaning them all out.

The important part, Myre had said at one point, was that the Soil Tree was still standing tall and proud.

She'd almost immediately vanished again, headed back to Tataroo Valley, apparently still trying to find something in the collapsed section of the Archives.

The third Archive was lost, apparently. They'd never found it in her timeline, and she had yet to find it in this one.

I wondered idly if Reighn might know. From what Myre had said, Reighn had never had a chance to wake up in her timeline before Ifrit had launched an attack on Eldrant.

Except that Ifrit was on our side now. So that wouldn't be happening.

It had been almost six weeks since Undine had unleashed the blizzard in Baticul. It looked like she was finally starting to get her strength back...

"Kairi?"

I paused and looked up, spotted Ryndor, and tilted my head to the side. "Yeah?"

He gestured for me to follow him, and I sighed, reaching out a telepathic field as I tried to figure out where Lorelei was. He'd been sent to get the replicas relocated again, and had been popping back up to Eldrant every few hours just to make sure he wasn't needed elsewhere while he helped them settle in.

At some point, Solace had gone to Fandral with him, and hadn't come back yet.

He wasn't here at the moment, though, so the field weakened in strength until it was basically gone.

Ryndor stopped not far from the temple that housed the passage ring, and he turned and gave me a look. "Dark said you had something for me to look into. I assumed regarding the miasma, from the grumbling he was doing, but..."

I nodded. "When I was fighting Gnome... He said Rem was right, and I was one of 'those.' I... I _think_ I know what he's talking about, but I'd like to be certain. I don't think it has anything to do with Kade or the miasma. More... More to do with my mindscape than anything else."

"Are you talking about the fact that your mindscape actually _burns_ mine when I grab you and pull you here?" Ryndor asked. "Because I started looking into it after I pulled you the first time. I typically try to drop them in the central Rugnica area. Somewhere between Tataroo Valley, Grand Chokmah, Engeve, and St. Binah. It's a fairly large area, but it's about as specific as I can get. Though I did try to drop you in Daath this last time. Still... Hard to do when I'm burning myself as I do it."

I grimaced. "That's probably it exactly. My mindscape, my _natural_ mindscape, is of a volcanic plain."

Ryndor hummed and nodded. "Well. Like I said. I started looking into it. All I found previously was that it was _very_ rare to find a mindscape like that. One in... about ten thousand, I think? The notes I did find confirm what you said about you and Jade before the battle at St. Binah, though. You two both show the signs."

I crossed my arms. "Jade's shouldn't be volcanic, though. More likely, you'd find half your mindscape dead from a _freeze_ instead. Which, might sound a bit strange, when he was born fire-elemental himself, except for the fact that, well. Nebillim. And then he was adopted out and his Energy balances changed. They stabilized, but they're..." I stopped and shook my head. "We're _meant_ to be unstable. So it's kinda screwed him over even more, mindscape-wise."

Ryndor nodded. "I'll look into it further, if I can get someone to take me back to the Rugnican Archives. Since I already know what I'm looking for, best to just assign me to it, in my opinion."

I nodded. "I'm not sure how safe that is, though..."

"Gnome's left the place alone since realizing we abandoned it," Ryndor replied. "It should be safe. Maybe tell Lorelei to stop dropping in every two hours and have him hit up Eldrant and the Rugnican Archives both before returning to Fandral? It's not like you can't have Luke or Asch contact him if he's needed."

True.

"I'll catch him the next time he stops by Eldrant," I said. "Do you want to head out now, or wait until then?"

"I'll have Sylph take me. Not like I have anything better to do."

I nodded. "Alright. I have to help get everything coordinated with the militaries. We're trying to get some kind of an alarm system set up so we'll know if an attack like the one at St. Binah happens again."

Ryndor nodded. "Good luck."

"You too."

He turned and was off a moment later, heading for the fortress that surrounded the replicated Hod.

It took me an hour to find Guy and the other technicians and make sure there weren't any hiccups. Then I managed to corner Lorelei, who had chuckled sheepishly and then teleported out again.

As night fell and the insanity slowly started to die down, I found myself leaning in the doorway of Reighn's room again.

The mass amount of blankets were gone, but in their place, an IV line was fed into Reighn's arm.

He looked peaceful.

Footsteps drew my eyes away from him, toward the girl walking down the hallway toward me. Aerith stood next to me in the doorway and sighed.

"You know, he'd have yelled at you for not coming in and sitting down."

I hummed.

"Hey... I was wondering..." Aerith started. "You and Rem keep fighting on the second plane... and Dark said he fought Rem in his own mindscape as well..."

I shook my head, already knowing where Aerith was going. "He's not lost in the abyss I trained Dark to get out of. He's..." I stopped and took a deep breath. "When someone falls into a coma like this... Their mindscape... Doesn't quite shatter, but sort of does, and then refracts..." I stopped and shook my head. "If I tried to get in and pull him out, I'd just trap the both of us in there. It's... It's a self-made prison, but also a shield. And only Reighn can get out of it. Rem has left him alone and will continue to leave him alone because she'd trap herself inside his mind if she tried to get in, and that would kill both of them eventually."

Aerith didn't quite look convinced, and I put a hand on her shoulder. "I want him to wake up, too. But his Energy Core's strong. His organ systems, _all_ of them, have healed. He'll wake up. Maybe not this week, maybe not next week... But I don't think he's going to make us wait on him too much longer."

She hummed and leaned into my side. "I don't like waiting. I never did when it was me and Mom and Matthias in Grand Chokmah, hated it even more after Mom died, and then..." Aerith stopped and closed her eyes. "I... Every time Reighn left on one of Van's assignments... I was always so terrified that he was going to die. _That_ was why I joined the Order behind his back, why I was working for Mohs. If Mohs thought I was his ally, well... Maybe I could keep Reighn safe from him."

I nodded. I understood that feeling. That was a lot of why I was still sticking so close to Dark. Even though he didn't need me there...

I felt responsible for him. And Sync. But I couldn't exactly hover over Sync when Sync wasn't here.

I sighed and pushed away from the doorframe I'd been leaning against, managing to displace Aerith as well, and walked over to Reighn, slipping half onto the second plane.

This wouldn't wake him up, nor would it really help much with his healing when he was already fully healed...

But the Energies I was running over his body would help him get back on his feet and in the middle of the action faster. Something I knew he'd appreciate.

Aerith was silent as I worked, and the two of us left the room together. Luke intercepted us after a few minutes, and I split away, leaving the two of them together.

I didn't make it far before Guy came racing up to me, shouting my name in what sounded rather like a panic.

Guy didn't typically panic, which meant we actually had a situation on our hands.

No.

Don't tell me...

"Are we under attack?!"

"We're not sure! The springs, the streams... all of the water inside Eldrant started glowing, and we're not sure if it's Undine or something else!" he replied.

I turned and raced for the nearest spring I knew of, the one that had been hit the worst by the miasma that my replica had apparently managed to infect what was now Dark's Midlight Crystal with. "Did this just start?"

"Again, we're not sure. It became rather obvious as the area got darker, but it sounds like it might have started sometime earlier in the day," Guy said.

I gritted my teeth. _Not_ what I wanted to hear...

We finally got to the spring, and I realized why the panic had started.

The water _was_ glowing.

Not very brightly, but it was glowing, and I was very, very careful approaching it. Even stepping half onto the second plane, I couldn't quite see what was causing it.

"Fonon and Energy levels seem normal... I can't really see well from here, though," I admitted. I groaned. "Stay back a ways? If it is Undine trying to do something, I really don't want you to get drowned with me."

"That's not very reassuring..." Guy muttered.

I shrugged and started advancing, _slowly_. I wasn't all that surprised when Jade, Asch, Luke, Aerith, and Natalia came up as well, doing as Guy was and staying back.

"Kairi..."

I stopped about two yards away from the spring, and watched the movement of the Energies and fonons.

They weren't responding to my presence more than they would normally...

Wait.

Were those...

Moon Energies?

I walked to the spring's edge and knelt, the worry and apprehension fading away as I realized what was _really_ going on.

"Kairi..." Jade sounded irritated.

"It's not Undine," I whispered. "It's... Oh, _gods_... I thought... It was always just a _myth_ , and..."

I stopped and considered what I was saying.

Dark's Sun Energy Midlight crystal.

The Moon Energy Midlight crystal I'd used to get rid of Mirage's miasma dump.

I let my fingers trail in the water, and was unsurprised when the water's glow shifted to a red-orange in their wake before shifting back to silver.

"It's... It's a side-effect of the Midlight crystal I used to get rid of the miasma in the water," I said, voice still very soft in my awe. "The legends... Gods... I never thought I'd see this."

"It's... not like bioluminescence, is it?" Jade asked.

I shook my head. "No. This isn't a chemical reaction, this is... This is pure _Energies_ ," I replied. "It's... The crystal I used was pure Moon Energies. So it was the perfect focal point for a cleansing spell, but..." I stopped and grinned. "The miasma's gone... and the spell's still going strong."

"Uh... I don't know how much more _cleansed_ the island can get if the miasma's gone," Aerith pointed out. "And, um... Glowing water."

I giggled. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"

I stood, water raising up to trail after my fingers, a red-orange glow still managing to cling to my skin. I lifted my hand, writing out my name in the air in cursive English with the trail of glowing water, and then pulled out the Energies I'd put into it and allowed the water to fall back into the spring.

"The legends call it a lot of things. Fairy water, springs of light... It's just the moon Energies giving more strength to the natural power of the water Energies," I said. "And yes, the glow is going to get brighter over the next few days, to the point where it will just barely be visible during the daytime." I turned and crossed my arms, looking at the group, and then glancing at the flowers. "There's also a possibility it will affect the flora around the springs."

"So... There's no danger?" Luke asked.

I smiled. "No. In fact, if anyone falls ill from _anything_ , make sure they get some of the water. Water Energies cleanse and heal, and this..."

"I'm going to guess the legends of the fountain of youth were also spawned by similar occurrences?" Jade asked, sounding very much intrigued.

I nodded. "Yes. Drinking from a glowing spring like this will actually help extend your life. Not that much, mind you."

"It's fixing all of the little things that would normally just break our bodies down faster," Jade said, getting the gist quickly.

I nodded again. "Yes..." I stopped and sighed. "I should probably start packing bottles of it. It won't reverse the damage the miasma did before Kade made me immune, but it will likely give me a few of those lost years back."

Asch walked over and wrapped his arms around me, sighing. The sound was a rather relieved one, and I couldn't blame him.

I needed this, more than I'd cared to admit. And I'd be good and actually drink the water, much as I hated drinking plain water, because... because of what Asch and I had talked about the first time I'd been caught hovering in the doorway of Reighn's room, watching him sleep through his coma.

Asch and I had discussed children...

If I wanted to carry to term, I'd need all the help I could get, and there was nothing that seventh fonons could do for me. I hadn't noticed it initially, but Asch had given up on using fonic artes to heal me, and had instead defaulted to simply using Scan to figure out what was wrong before healing me with Energies.

This water... this was nothing _but_ Energies.

"Well. I suppose we ought to go let everyone know that no, we're not being attacked, and yes, they should go back to sleep," Jade mused.

I nodded, but didn't really start moving until Asch pulled me along. I was tired, and this...

This had given me hope when I was starting to lose it again.

Asch held me close, not wanting me to wander too far from him, and I didn't even try to.

Kids... That water meant I still had a shot at having kids.

Asch chuckled. "You are very good at doing things and not realizing that there are more consequences than you initially notice, aren't you?"

I smiled. "Well. At least this is a good one."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay, this is the magnificence that is Embers coming into play again. Because something Vathara mentions in multiple A/Ns is the idea of consequences.  
_

 _Yes. Consequences. There are a_ lot _of consequences from everything that's been happening, and Kairi, while brilliant at planning on the fly... is really,_ really _bad with the longer term consequences. (See: Van taking Luke instead of Asch at Akzeriuth. Also a dozen other examples I could give, but this is probably one of the best.)_

 _So yeah. Fairy water. This is going to spawn a large argument in a later chapter and Kairi is basically going to start knocking heads over it. But that's for another time._


	59. Chapter 8-4 Part 59

_This post brought to you by a huge-ass system update that's kept my phone useless for a good two hours and a distinct lack of word warring currently going on in my Skype group.  
_

 _I'd say 'enjoy,' but... well. You'll see.  
_

 _(If there are any errors I haven't noticed, I apologize in advance. I didn't really read over this with my usual fine-toothed comb and Teá, my usual beta, is in Spain still. Or on the plane back. Or is just getting home. I dunno. She's due home within the next couple of days at least.)_

* * *

" _Asch, Aerith, Tear, Ifrit... Who conned Ifrit into this?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.4 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 59**

Gods, I hated meetings.

At least I was leaving as soon as this one was over.

"Luke, Hue, Natalia, and Rialle. You four are headed for Daath this week, correct?" I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

Damn whichever general had come up with this idea.

"Yes," Luke replied. "I'll send up reports daily."

Cantabile made the appropriate notes, and I checked the next group. "Selenia, Jade, Anise, Dark..." I stopped and frowned. "Uh... why is Selenia listed as the squad leader here?"

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Because she's the only short-range melee fighter in the group. Anise and I are fonists, and Dark is coming along primarily as a healer."

"Reports put the number of monsters attacking St. Binah's walls as high enough for this to be a combat situation, hence the need for combat squad formations," Selenia grumbled, sounding about as pleased about it as the rest of the group did.

I sighed. "Noted. Reports?"

"Twice daily due to the risk level," Selenia replied easily, knowing full well what was expected of her.

That note made...

"Asch, Aerith, Tear, Ifrit... Who conned Ifrit into this?"

Ifrit snickered. "Ah'm bored."

I scratched my head. "I hope for all our sakes that you stay that way..."

Asch sighed. "He volunteered to fill the hole on my team. We'll live."

I nodded. "Alright. And you're headed for Belkend, yes?"

"It's the last major Kimlascan city that hasn't been evacuated or buried under six feet of snow. We need to look in on it," Asch replied. "Daily reports. We're close enough to the water for there to be a threat there, and with the cliff..."

"Gnome can't drop Belkend the way he dropped Sheridan in Myre's timeline, but he can certainly try," I said as Cantabile made her notes. Poor Cantabile. She'd gotten stuck on desk duty...

"Guy, Flick, Seth, you three are with me. We're going to Chesedonia to look in them. For one thing, I distinctly remember the city being covered in mud in the vision Lorelei showed Luke," I said. I glanced over at Cantabile. "Daily reports. It's too dangerous _not_ to."

She nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly, and made the last note.

I waited until she was done to stand up. "Asch, Luke, your groups are traveling by hyperresonance, correct?" The two nodded.

"Shadow will be taking the four of us to St. Binah," Jade piped up. "Saphir managed to talk him into that much, at least."

I nodded. "Any word from Ryndor or Solace?"

"Nothing from Ryndor. It sounds like he's still sifting through the massive and unorganized mess that calls itself the Archive, though," Dark said.

"Solace said that Fandral is coming along nicely. Might be another week or so before he'll be able to return, though. Oh, and Path and Del will be coming with him again when he does," Anise added.

I hummed. "Alright. We'll have to check in on them when we get back..." I turned to look at Cantabile and Peony. "You've got things handled here?"

"Yes. We should be able to keep the madness contained, at least," Peony replied, a small smile trying to pull at his lips, but failing for the most part.

I nodded and looked at my group. "Alright. We're taking the Albiore III from here. Ginji's waiting on us." Finally. "We'll have to wait until we get to Chesedonia to figure out anything more. It's gone almost completely silent there since Noir stopped sending us messages."

Which was something else I wanted to look into. All three of the Dark Wings were missing now as well.

Not a good sign.

My group filed out of the room, Asch and Luke simply using hyperresonance to teleport their groups away to the cities they'd be stuck in for a week. We didn't really have a lot of a choice at the moment. The usual groups we sent out had been called in for evaluations and health checkups and such things, and really...

We needed the excuse to get out and do something again. Most of us spent the majority of our days on Eldrant now.

I glanced back, noting that Guy and Seth were happily chatting with each other. Flick skipped along next to them, humming a tune that only she knew the words to, and I smiled. It was good to see that even though we were in the middle of what was rapidly turning into a war, we were still _living_.

The Albiores were both sitting on top of the temple. Our group didn't use them much anymore, as they were usually left for the patrols that were _usually_ assigned to these jobs.

Still, our group of four didn't have someone capable of teleporting, nor did we have Shadow. And having the Albiore on hand was always nice, anyway...

Ginji spotted us coming up and vanished into the Albiore III, and Guy chuckled. "Gee. Think he's excited to get back in the air?"

I reached over and smacked him.

The flight to Chesedonia was quiet, and I spent most of it with my arms crossed, head bowed, and mind lost in thoughts about what could have happened to Noir, York, and Urushi.

Most of the mental images ended with them either dead, or bearing the same, lifeless brown eyes I'd last seen on Sync's face.

Neither was an ending I liked.

I didn't notice that we'd arrived until I felt the familiar bump of landing, and my head shot up, glancing out the viewports even as I grimaced.

Getting lost in thought like that was dangerous.

Still...

"Alright, so... First thing, we should probably go talk to Astor," Guy said.

I nodded. "Astor, and then Din. She might know what happened to Noir, York, and Urushi."

Seth crossed his arms. "What if we can't find those three?"

"Then we leave it to the other groups, or for later in general," I said, hating every word even as I said it. "We don't have time to be tracking them down right now. We're here to take over the patrol, so for the week, that's what we're stuck doing. Stick in partners, eight-hour shifts."

"I call Seth!" Flick piped up.

I rolled my eyes. "I was going to drag you with me. I'm short-range, you're long range. Seth's also long-range, and Guy's short-range."

Flick seemed to wilt a bit, and Seth sighed. "Except you and I can both go either way. I'll fight short range. Flick's got the stronger strike artes, anyway."

I sighed and nodded. Good enough. So that left... "You and me, then, Guy."

"I've got no problems with that," he said, mostly cheerfully. He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you going to be okay on your own, Ginji?"

Ginji smiled and shook his head. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll have the Albiore in the air at the first sign of trouble, like always."

I hummed. "Alright. Guy and I will go talk to Astor and Din. Flick, Seth, you two get the first patrol. It's about noon, so I expect you two to be at the inn at eight. Guy and I will try to get some sleep between now and then to cover that night shift."

Flick grinned, saluted, and then walked off, Seth sighing and walking after her.

Guy waited until they were out of range to groan. "Really? We get the first night shift?"

"Just keep in mind that I'm usually going to bed when our shift starts and waking up when it'll end," I muttered. "But it gets Flick out doing something useful with her energy, and _I_ have to talk to Astor. No ifs ands or buts about it."

Guy nodded. "You bring up a good point. Alright, let's go. Faster we get the formalities dealt with, faster we get to beds."

I nodded, adopting that mentality myself, and then led the way to Astor's mansion. It had taken a good bit of damage from the fall into the Qliphoth, but the repair work had already started before the sentience mess had been unleashed on the world, and it looked like the repairs would be continued as soon as it was safe to do so.

Finding Astor was easy. He always seemed to know when one of our group was here, and for once, this was actually a good thing, in my opinion. It meant that Guy and I didn't have to go hunting for him in the huge mansion.

"Hello there! What can I do for you?" the man asked, just as cheerful-acting as always.

I stood and saluted in the standard fashion of the Oracle Knights to indicate that I was on business. "We're here to cover the regular patrols. The usual soldiers have been recalled for health inspections," I started.

"Ah. How many of you are there?"

"Just four. Our companions are already on patrol," I replied. "Also, we've been having difficulty getting reports from this area. Most of our previous reports were coming in through the Dark Wings, but they've gone silent. Do you know anything about this?"

Astor shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't. The last time I saw any of the three of them, they were headed out toward Baticul."

"Oh, _great_. Tell me they didn't get caught up in Undine's blizzard," Guy muttered.

I sighed. "Possible. Or it could be something else entirely..." I stopped and grunted. "We'll head for the inn, then. We'll be on the nightwatch, so we really ought to go get some rest while we still can."

Astor nodded. "I'll see what I can find out about the Dark Wings, if you'd like."

"I'm also going to make a stop at Din's shop. She might know something."

"Din left," Astor said. "Went with the Dark Wings. I thought..." He frowned and walked over to a desk, riffling through the papers piled there for a moment before he pulled one out. "Aha! Here."

He held the paper out, and I realized it was a note from Din.

' _Left for Nam Cobanda Isle with Dark Wings. Will return with the rest of the Hod survivors.'_

I sighed. "Well. That answers the question of where they disappeared to..." I muttered. "Alright. Off to the inn with us, then."

I made to hand the note back to Astor, but he held up his hands. "Keep it. It made little sense to me. I've never heard of Nam Cobanda Isle."

I smiled. "Yeah. You kinda have to hang around the Dark Wings for a few weeks at a shot for it to be brought up in conversation..." I pocketed the note and then saluted again. "Thank you for your time."

"Any time. I'm always happy to be of service."

Guy and I left, headed for the inn. No words passed between us, as the both of us had just one thought on our minds.

 _Sleep_.

It was going to be a long night...

A long, and thankfully uneventful night.

We woke Flick and Seth at four in the morning, and both collapsed back into bed. Seth shook me awake at noon, and I managed to actually force down some food before Guy and I were back at it.

It was the morning patrol on the fourth day when things suddenly became... hairy.

I was standing at the Kimlascan-side docks, watching the sun rise. The telepathic field I had laid down over the city meant that I would know if Undine, Gnome, or a sudden mass of monsters decided to show up.

Guy walked up to check in, something he did just because he felt more comfortable when he did, and...

I hadn't been paying any attention to my secondary Talent. I hadn't felt Undine until she was suddenly _right there_.

Water washed over the docks, slamming into me and Guy will all the force of a raging tsunami, and I heard Guy's shout of surprise and the gurgle that meant the water had covered his mouth before he'd realized the need to close it.

I fought back against the water, grabbing whatever I could to hold on, and holding my breath when the water managed to go over my head.

Then it was pulling back out, and I could breathe again.

Seth came racing down the staircase, Flick hot on his heels, already casting a Dragon's Flower on the monsters that had come 'ashore' in that wave.

I coughed up the sea water I'd swallowed and then threw myself into the fight. Dozens of monsters had managed to climb up out of the water with that wave, and while Seth was skilled with his blade, he was also in need of sleep at this point. Flick was doing only slightly better.

I was doing well enough, I supposed...

I spun around in a Guardian's Pain, and snarled slightly as Seth stepped onto the edge of the glyph.

I hated the miasma burn that always came along with someone getting a healing out of that arte... And the really bad part was, I didn't think I could use the normal Guardian Field anymore. Kade's summoning contract meant that I had so much miasma in my body at any given time that I was almost constantly infusing my artes with it, whether it was a conscious choice or not.

Seth stepped back and started casting, and it was suddenly my job to keep the rest of the monsters from getting to him or Flick, who was happily launching arrow after arrow at them.

The first wave of monsters fell fairly easily.

Undine's elemental monsters then decided to join the party.

I groaned as a watery snake tried to wrap itself around me, and when Flick and Seth both cursed, I couldn't help but do the same.

Where the hell had Guy disappeared to?!

Banishing the thought from my mind—it had no place in the middle of a battle like this—I ducked under another attack and twisted into a Rising Wind.

The sea serpents were falling apart quickly enough, since Seth and Flick were both sticking primarily to fire-elemental attacks.

Well, and Flick was launching a DelQues every time she got the chance. Which was whenever something got too close.

Once the sea serpents were gone, I lifted my sword and braced myself, telepathic field laid down and searching...

This wasn't it... was it?

"Is it over?" Flick asked warily, eyeing the water.

I didn't answer immediately, instead pulling on my secondary Talent and simply _feeling_.

Nothing came back to me, and I nodded, letting Silver Clematis return to my arm. "I can't feel anything, with _either_ Talent," I replied.

Then I realized what else I couldn't feel.

Guy was... gone.

I strengthened the telepathic field, and reached out into the water. It was possible he'd been swept out when the small tidal wave had hit us...

But no matter how far I searched... I couldn't reach far enough.

"Wait... Where's Guy?" Seth asked, the horror in his voice saying enough.

Guy... was gone. And gone, in this case, meant...

Dead.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _-opens mouth to say something, stops and closes it again- Okay. So I can't say the thing I want to say because spoilers._

 _However... The Dark Wings. Yeah, they went back to Nam Cobanda Isle to go get the rest of the Hod survivors they'd rounded up initially. And yes, they took Din with them. When they show up again... Well. Remember what Noir and York were trying to do back during the Blue Lights Festival? That thing Ifrit crashed? Yeah. There's your hint._


	60. Chapter 8-5 Part 60

_So. You may skip down to the chapter if you'd like. I realize this is a long rant._

 _I've done some number-crunching. (Because I like my numbers. Normally. Unless they're 0s. That means I'm being an excessive lazy-ass and will need to be even less lazy-ass than normal to make up for it the next day. Anyway!)_

 _My numbers tell me this._

 _By the end of March, I'll have written up to about Part 86. (My goal for the month is to finish Chapter 11.) Then I'm taking April away from AEtT to work on outlines and word crawls and my interactive story I've been working on since November, and one hand-written story, and, admittedly, a Transformers/MCU x-over plotbunny that refuses to leave me alone. So yeah. (I will also be prepping chapters for posting. Lots of them. April will have plenty of updates, between the six I have scheduled and the ones I'll post as I hit goals, of which I have 9.)_

 _I was half-plotting for May, trying to figure out what I'd be working on alongside AEtT... when it suddenly hit me. Would I even_ have _another 50k worth of words left for the Main Arcs of this story? So I did a really, really rough outline that will likely change as Kairi, my own personal outline-tornado, rips her way through it, but if it's even somewhere close... Then I do have just about 50k words to write during May._

 _THE END IS UPON US! Or upon me, at least, as I'll be keeping up my Fridays updating schedule, and will be doing a much better job of it once the whole thing's been written. Mostly 'cause most of June will be spent separating/editing/prepping for posting. If my rough outline is close to correct, and I make all of my goals in April, I'll be done posting AEtT in late August/early September. The Symphonia spin-off, ADL, will be up January 1_ _st_ _, as my writing focus will shift onto that after May._

 _Also, I'll be spending July focusing only on artwork. I've got rather a list already, but if there's a pic you'd like to see, let me know and I'll add it to my list, just to see how many drawings I can crank out in July._

 _So yeah. Rant over._

 _If you made it through all that, congrats. Now... uh. No. Still not going to tell you to enjoy the chapter. Next one maybe.  
_

* * *

" _Amethyst could kinda go either way, I suppose, though most of us figured the minute Jade came up with the name 'Amethyst', they were having a girl." –Myre_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.5 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 60**

I was hovering again.

Not for Reighn, this time...

No... I was standing on the Albiore's ramp, preparing to leave Chesedonia, and staring out over the water.

We'd lost Guy. In a freak wave. Because I hadn't been paying attention to my secondary Talent. I'd gotten so used to relying on the first...

"Huh. Wasn't expecting to see you here."

I glanced behind me, then let my eyes wander out over the ocean again.

"Gee, don't talk my ear off."

"Guy's lost."

There was silence. Complete and utter silence, that lasted for a good ten minutes before Myre seemed to get her voice back.

"...Lost? As in... puppet lost, or..." Myre stopped, and when I glanced at her, I didn't see the twenty-four-year-old woman who grumped and growled and called all of us idiots for thinking we could take on the sentiences.

I saw the little girl she'd been once, the little girl that was currently in St. Binah, leading the squad that was helping to clear out the monsters trying to attack the weakened city.

"Tidal wave hit the Kimlasca-side port. Both of us were standing there. I managed to grab onto a flagpole... Guy..."

Myre swallowed, looking so very pale, and she looked out at the water herself. "He... He didn't resurface to fight you?"

"No."

I didn't have to ask what that meant. The fact that Myre had phrased it like that, and the story Dark had told me about the confrontation with Gnome in Grand Chokmah...

"So... Not Undine's puppet."

Myre inhaled, a shaky sound that spoke volumes about how upset she really was at the moment. "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault. I'm the idiot that wasn't paying attention to her Talent."

"Except... I didn't think about it... That's... That's how we lost Anise."

I glanced over at her.

"Guy was still alive when I made the jump back... I think..."

"A part of you believed that since he survived in the original timeline, that meant he'd do so again in this one?"

Myre looked over at me. "You... I'm sorry..."

I shook my head. That... That had come out with far more bitterness that it should have. "No... I'm not angry at you. I..." I stopped and sighed. "Zion. Zion kept screwing me up when I was trying to change things, because he was an unknown. I knew Van. I knew Asch, and Mohs, and Sync... But I didn't know Zion. So... I had to keep my plans flexible. And still..."

"That's part of why you keep hovering over Reighn, isn't it? You keep thinking that it's your fault in some way."

"Asch died in Baticul in your timeline," I muttered. "And yet he's still alive. Guy lived until you made the jump back... and yet..." I gestured out toward the ocean. "Things change. Everything we do changes a million little things that change a million more little things."

"So... how do we change it a little less chaotically? Or... maybe not less chaotically..."

"How do we regain control of the situation?" I supplied.

"Yeah. That. If it's even possible at this point."

I took a deep breath, let it out, and then did it again. And a third time for good measure.

"Come back to Eldrant with us. Our week of patrol is up. Come back, tell us what you know, and then we'll sic my brain, and Jade's brain, and Dark's brain, and everyone's brains on it, and you know what?" Myre looked over at me somewhat hopefully. "We might just manage to come up with enough contingency plans to cover all of our holes."

The woman snorted, but looked to be in a slightly better mood.

And... to be honest, so was I.

Guy wouldn't want us to give up. And giving up was the last thing on my mind at the moment.

I headed up the ramp and glanced back at Myre. "You coming, or not?"

She hummed. "I'll meet you there. Think I better go grab Ryndor while we're at it. I've held the poor man at knife-point, threatened to castrate him, and sent him on a bit of a wild goose chase. I think he deserves to sit in on this one."

I smiled. "See you at Eldrant."

She nodded, and then turned, raising Gray Larkspur. Then she froze, and looked up at me. "Six Spirit Energies."

I nodded. "I know. Saphir said."

"We could always use another teleporter," Myre said. I shrugged.

"Assuming she gets that ability. It could be different."

Myre smirked. "Actually... Given the timing... It's possible it'll be the exact same circumstances. Anise wasn't due to die for another two years yet."

...Interesting. Morbid, but interesting.

I sighed, shook my head, and headed up the ramp into the Albiore III. Seth and Flick were already onboard, asleep, and Ginji had just been waiting for me.

The flight back to Eldrant was just as silent as the flight to Chesedonia had been, except this one was marred by the grief that the four of us felt. Seth and Flick mourned a lost friend, while Ginji was feeling the loss of his might-have-become brother-in-law.

My grief was aimed more at Myre than anything else.

She had truly lost everyone... Not only her Sync, but...

We were a large group. And groups like that... We tended to support each other, we were a network... And to lose even one part of it...

It hurt all of us. But we still had each other...

I had to wonder just how many had survived to the date Myre had jumped back from. Had it just been Myre and Guy? Had someone else survived at all?

I didn't know, and while I didn't really want to know... I needed to.

We needed to know everything Myre knew, for the exact reason that she'd given earlier. Because we'd just lost Guy the same way she had lost Anise. And that meant it was very possible that we could lose someone else the same way she'd lost someone. Even if it wasn't the same person, even if the timeline was off...

We had to know.

I braced myself when we landed. I'd seen Asch and Noelle. I knew what they were waiting for.

I could feel Jade walking up the steps to the top of the temple, thanks to my telepathy. Knew exactly how long it would be before Noelle came running up to greet us. And I was not looking forward to it, but...

I took a deep breath and walked down the ramp, Flick and Seth right behind me.

Noelle stopped at the foot of the ramp, eyes glancing over us, and I saw the confusion change to worry when Ginji joined us... and Guy didn't.

I'd always felt pity, in military movies, when the officer had to inform the family that a solider had died...

I'd managed to worm around it, mostly, after the Northern Chesedonia mess, because the few dead men that had been from the Order, had been informed by letters delivered by a division set aside for that exact purpose. The Order of Lorelei drew from cities around the world, and sending out the commanding officers to convey that message was... wasteful.

This time, I couldn't get away from it.

Seth pulled on Flick's arm, dragging her away before she could say anything, and Noelle bit her lip.

From what I'd heard from Myre, things had been different last time. Guy had lived, and Noelle had died...

I wished it had never switched like this, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

I knew the words, knew what needed to be said, but... I didn't want to do this any more than Noelle wanted to hear it.

It had to be done.

Noelle took two steps back, allowing me to stand on flat ground with her, and I took a deep breath to help steady myself.

"It has fallen to me to inform you that Gailardia Galan Gardios was killed in action in Chesedonia on Sylphday, Rem-Decan 34, 2019."

Noelle's eyes closed, and I managed to take another steady breath and give a brief explanation of the circumstances. "On the behalf of Fon Master Ion, and as his commanding officer for the operation, I extend to you my deepest sympathy in your loss."

Ginji was there, standing next to Noelle and hugging her, and I waited until they'd left before I walked over to Asch, who had his eyes closed. I didn't have to look on the second plane to know that he was conveying the information to Luke as well, and I waited until he opened his eyes to deliver the bad news.

"We still need to tell Fallon."

"Fandral?"

"Fandral."

"I'll tell Lorelei," Asch murmured. "I don't think you'd be able to keep calm through a second round of... that."

I shook my head, a few tears of my own falling. "I failed him."

"We're fighting the _sentiences_ , Kairi. I don't think—"

"I managed to grab onto something. And I should have been able to warn him, should have realized that Undine would be able to sneak around my telepathy. I wasn't paying attention, and it cost us one of the best men I've ever met."

Asch wrapped his arms around me. "It's not your fault."

I was glad one of us thought so.

Asch's grip tightened, and we stood there in silence for a while, my guilt still not assuaged. It wouldn't be, not for a long time.

My inattention had gotten Guy killed.

There was a soft ringing sound, and then I realized that I knew that sound. It was something that tended to happen a lot around Asch, Luke, and Lorelei...

And Myre.

I looked over my shoulder, and Myre froze, realizing that she'd just walked in on something. I swallowed and shifted, pulling away from Asch slightly, and he reluctantly let me go. He knew as well as I did that I needed more time to grieve properly, but... I also had work to do. We had to make sure that Guy's loss wasn't for nothing.

I managed to pull myself back together, the inner fires that were all too happy to burn away my more 'human' emotions doing their best to consume the grief and guilt.

I let them, not wanting to be held back by the grief.

We had work to do. I would grieve for everyone we'd lost after I was sure that we'd stop losing people to the sentiences we were so desperately struggling against.

And maybe it wasn't the healthiest thing to do, but it had to be done. Eldrant needed to be protected, and if Guy was gone, then I wasn't going to slow down.

I looked over at Myre. "I take it everyone's waiting on us?"

I didn't miss the grimace that crossed Asch's expression, but he knew as well as I did that now was not the time to be breaking down.

Myre nodded. "Yes. I just went to go see if Fallon wanted to get involved, but apparently the answer was no..." She paused. "I... I'm going to guess that the reason Lorelei pulled her away as I was leaving was..."

Asch nodded. "I asked him to let her know."

I made a mental note to thank Asch later, even as I turned and started walking. I knew where our typical meeting hall was, and Myre had a lot to tell us. Starting with what had already been changed from her timeline.

She jogged up next to me and fell into step, and I dared to glance over her outfit again. It had been bugging me since I'd first seen the outfit, actually, but... "So... Dare I ask why you're dressed like that?"

She glanced at me, then looked down at her clothing, then glanced at me, then at her clothing again.

Then she seemed to realize what I was seeing.

Now, to be frank, I'd seen unitards on Auldrant before, but they were typically only worn by performers, much like their use on _Earth_.

Myre was running around in a black unitard, with a blue half-cape, a blue wrap-around skirt, and blue boots.

She flushed slightly, but then shrugged. "It was a uniform, of sorts. We didn't really have the time to make really unique clothing... hell, most of us wore variations of the same two or three outfits... Having something a little more unique marked you out as having a high rank, and every last one of us was required to basically wear a unitard. The extras, in this case my skirt and cape, were what set each group leader apart. In color and in style. The blue was _mine_. I was the only one of the generals who wore a shade of blue. And the gold at the top of my boots told everyone I was right there at the top. There were only three of us with gold."

"Who were the other two?" Asch asked.

"Seth was one of the others, and Aslan was the third," Myre answered. "Seth wore red. Whether it was a tribute to Flick, or Jade, no one ever really knew. Or asked. Aslan was gold and white. I think the saddest part was the fact that Thys was already wearing his own so-to-speak officer's uniform when I left."

Asch and I were quiet for a moment.

Asch spoke up first. "Who's Thys?"

Myre half-tripped, and I grabbed her arm on reflex. Her face turned a bright shade of red. "Uh... Don't tell Jade and Cantabile? Because, I mean... They'll _probably_ give him the same name, since, you know, circumstances, and... Um. Anyway, yeah... Amethyst Curtiss."

I hummed. "Cantabile's hair is violet."

Myre nodded. "How did you...?"

"Jade's mother had green eyes. His father's name was Carnelian. I'm guessing the gemstone thing is a family tradition."

Myre smiled. "I'd say so. And Amethyst could kinda go either way, I suppose, though most of us figured the minute Jade came up with the name 'Amethyst', they were having a girl."

"Kid's got my pity," Asch muttered.

Myre giggled. "And that's why we always called him Thys. Also, it was shorter."

I smiled, because even though we'd lost Guy, Myre had just given me one hell of a lot of hope.

Amethyst Curtiss.

"Well. Let's see what we can do about making sure that Thys doesn't grow up an orphan, hm?"

Myre smirked. "Now that's something I can get onboard with. Because if Cantabile doesn't die in three years, that means that kid won't get Phaïe's Song as soon as he's strong enough to lift it, which means we don't have the kid that Flick nicknamed the Snow King running around within the decade. The kid was downright terrifying, but..." She stopped and shrugged. "So... Where should I start?" she asked, nodding to the building we were rapidly approaching.

I sighed. "Start with what's already been changed, and then go from there."

Asch grunted. "Here goes..."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Amethyst Curtiss. Or rather, as he will be known in this timeline, Amethyst Balfour._

 _This little jerkass has been haunting the back of my head for a good two years now. And I'm glad that he's finally starting to show up, even if only as mentions of a child who's not even been born yet._

 _Thys, by himself, has managed to wrangle two whole new stories out of me, though I've managed to get a 'I won't start pushing until after you've written the Future Arcs' out of him. That said, he's currently tracking down Danté because I'll need Danté so I can get ADL written. This kid is as pushy as Cantabile and as smart as Jade, which effectively makes him terrifying._

 _The only person that can really get him back in line is Kairi. And we all know how much Kairi loves helping me out. –shoots a sour look at the woman sipping a bottle of Strongbow- Fragging pains in my ass..._


	61. Chapter 8-6 Part 61

_So while I'm waiting for my Skype group to start word warring again, I'm just going to keep editing/uploading Parts. Because I owe you guys up to 65 now. (Which also happens to be the last Part I have separated from the main doc at the moment.)_

 _Enjoy! (As this chapter is actually somewhat enjoyable. Oh, and be excited for next chapter. Next chapter is awesome.)_

* * *

" _Solace has found his place, I think. And it's not with the Order of Lorelei." –Kairi_

" _When did a couple dozen random idiots turn into a council?" –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.6 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 61**

Fandral was built.

I stood with Dark, Ifrit, and Solace at the top edge of the crag. From here, we could see the entire village, and the shrine hidden within it.

Fallon, Path, and Del stood at the entrance to the shrine, addressing their replica brethren, and I could tell from the look on Solace's face that he wanted to be down there with them, wanted to be a part of _this_...

I smiled sadly.

Solace had never really enjoyed working with the Order of Lorelei in the capacity he did. He was far more interested in helping people out, and these people, these replicas... These were his people.

I sighed. "Are you going to join them, or are you going to keep hovering up here?"

Solace jumped and looked up at me, blinking a few times before looking down at them. "I'm not sure..."

"They're your people, Solace. And I can _see_ Path glancing up here every time he thinks no one's looking at him. And he's not looking for me."

Solace was quiet for a few minutes before he glanced over at Ifrit, who smirked, took a half-step left, and then vanished in a small whirl of fire, taking Solace with him down into the shrine.

This left me and Dark to stand up on the ridge. Dark was wearing his Avenger clothing again for the first time in weeks, and he looked relaxed.

I was pretty relaxed, myself. I was paying attention to both Talents, making sure we wouldn't be attacked.

So when the fonons started gathering, and the quickly-becoming familiar mind brushed against my field, but the warning of an attack never came from my secondary Talent, I tensed, but didn't draw my weapons. Not yet...

Gnome stepped out of the rock next to us, and simply stood in the semi-line Dark and I had started, the semi-line that Ifrit and Solace had abandoned.

I glanced down at the replicas. It looked like the christening of the village and the speeches the leading _four_ had made were done, and I smiled as a little girl tentatively walked into the shrine, carrying a small bouquet of flowers with her.

Most of the other replicas had simply dispersed, heading for the fields they'd set up outside the village to start getting the crops planted.

It was a bit early in the year even for _Engeve_ to be farming, but they'd need the crops for the food soon enough, as they were running out of supplies.

"Vould it be out of line for me to ask you to leave?"

I glanced over at Gnome, realizing that he was talking to _me_ , specifically.

I didn't reply immediately, instead thinking over everything that Aerith had been able to tell us about what she'd found in the journals from the Tataroo Valley Archive.

"Not really, but you'll have to excuse me if I don't. For one thing, I really do not like attempting flight, and..." I over-dramatically looked around the ledge. "There is no safe way down from this ledge."

Gnome seemed to realize this as well, and he glanced at Dark before leaning against the rock wall and crossing his arms. "Sylph's veela are... talkative. And vhen I care to listen, so too are my own eggbears." The man paused, seeming to have difficulty finding the words he needed. "Is it true?"

Dark smiled and looked up at the sky. "I don't deserve her," he said. "Never did, never will." He stopped and looked over at me. "I didn't deserve either of them. But they don't seem all that inclined to let me go."

I realized suddenly what this was about, and I couldn't help but smirk, even as I turned my gaze back on the fields outside Fandral.

Fields, and prairie, and a number of trees already sprouting with ease...

"No. They do not."

The heartbreak in Gnome's voice told me enough about Anastasia to wish her a painful stay in hell once again.

"Vhy are the replicas here? Vhy not Eldrant vith the rest of you?"

"It was their choice to remain autonomous," I replied. "I was willing to allow them that, as were Emperor Peony and Asch."

"You, Asch, Peony, Cantabile, Solace..."

"Cantabile doesn't really count anymore," I noted. "And Solace..." I trailed off with a smile. "Solace has found his place, I think. And it's not with the Order of Lorelei."

Dark glanced down, spotting the green-haired teen standing next to Del and helping to get the bags of seed that the replicas had gotten from merchants in Chesedonia to the men and women who would be planting the crops.

The former-assassin smiled. "Yeah. I think you're right."

Gnome hummed. "They are so very young, all of them..." He looked over at the two of us. "Leave them to their own devices, and I shall do the same."

I frowned a bit. "It may be true that Solace has found his place, but that doesn't mean he's going to stop fighting. Path, either. Del might be convinced, but his greatest concern is gathering the remaining replicas that were originally created to be a part of Mohs' army and bringing them to safety _here._ "

"So long as the village as a whole stays vhere it is, I vill not act against them. They are young. They vill be given a chance."

I nodded. "I can agree with that."

Gnome simply nodded, and moved to leave.

"Gaius."

The man froze and turned, looking at Dark like a deer in the headlights. "Vhere... did you hear that name?"

Dark crossed his arms. "The clansman who was your commanding officer when you first transferred to the city around where Belkend would eventually be built... What was his name?"

Gnome didn't respond immediately, eyes darting back and forth between me and Dark before he finally steeled himself. "Masaru. His name was Masaru Barakaru."

The man was gone in the next instant, even as I felt my insides freeze.

Barakaru.

Balacruft.

Balfour.

I swallowed. "Dark. What did Aerith tell you that she didn't tell me?"

"Masaru was the one to tell the other Clans that Gnome was about to go on a rampage against Anastasia," Dark started. He shot me a look. "They tried to stop him, and when their initial plan failed..."

"They sealed the sentiences away."

"From the note that was apparently left by his daughter, Gnome killed Masaru himself."

I grimaced. Well. That explained a lot about Gnome.

Ifrit was up next to us again a minute later, looking damn near ready to panic and set everything in the nearest mile on fire. "Are ya alright?!"

Dark blinked at him. "Yeah. Fine."

I sighed. "So I'm going to guess that you're late rejoining us because Gnome did something to basically keep you from coming back up."

Ifrit nodded. "Ah'm sorreh, ah saw 'im up here an'—"

"It's alright, Ifrit," I reassured him. "We're fine, and Gnome's left. Fandral will be left alone as long as the village stays out of the war."

Ifrit looked back and forth between me and Dark, as if he wasn't quite sure whether or not to believe us, but finally nodded. "A'right. So... Now wha'?"

"Now we need to go get Solace and Path and get back to Eldrant. I'm sure by now Cantabile's found something else for us to go do," I replied easily. Ifrit nodded and was gone again after looking both of us over yet again, and I shot a mildly exasperated look at Dark, who just chuckled.

"Kid's gotten attached to you."

"He's not _that_ young."

Dark gave me a look that said he was calling bullshit. "He and Rem are the youngest of the main six, and then we all agree that Lorelei is the baby of the family. So are you really going to try to use that as a valid excuse?"

I shrugged. "Well. It was a good try, I guess. Anyway, what are we going to do about the information Myre's been looking for? That section of the Tataroo Valley Archive is still utterly buried."

"Thought we weren't re-sealing them?"

"Sealing them away completely? No. No way," I refuted. "But we have to find some way to limit them, lock down the amount of power they have access to at any given time, or else..." I gestured around absently. "All of this goes bye-bye. Rem hates humans in general. Undine... I couldn't say for sure, but I highly doubt she cares for us. And as it keeps getting pointed out to us, Gnome isn't angry with humans, he's angry with our actions."

"True. So we have to find some way to limit them... and you're suggesting looking into the seals that were used to seal them away completely three thousand years ago?"

I hummed and looked up at the sky, remembering the shard of monolith crystal that was resting between my heart and spine. "I think I have an idea, but I would have to learn more before I could even consider suggesting it to the council."

Dark snorted. "When did a couple dozen random idiots turn into a council?"

"When war started, and the rulers of the different countries all started grouping up in a single room with all of those idiots."

Ifrit came back with a whirl of fire, Path and Solace with him, and within seconds, that fire had also wrapped up myself and Dark.

When it cleared completely, we were back at the top of the temple in Eldrant, and it was nighttime.

I couldn't fight back the grin at the glowing springs that illuminated the replicated Hod. The land had finally finished expanding, and now the 'island' reached all the way out to the fortress that held it in.

With the replication machines now offline, that extra power had gone into powering up some of the tech that had been replicated. Things like water purifiers, and lighting in the homes.

Eldrant was rapidly turning into its own city, just like Fandral had, like the Tower of Rem had tried to do and eventually would, most likely.

Still...

I walked over to the far edge of the temple and held out my hand. There was a spring right below here, and occasionally, little specks of light would float up from it.

Water, wind, and moon Energies, floating around on the breezes, and visible to the naked eye.

It was magical-looking, and always brought a smile to my face.

"Hehe... Eldrant to Kairi," Dark teased. "Cantabile, remember?"

Right.

The four of us had only been up for a few hours, so even though it was going on noon in Fandral, and around midnight in Eldrant, we still had plenty of work to do.

The jet-lag effect was terrible, but I would live. And it wasn't like we wouldn't just get assigned to someplace where it was morning, roughly.

St. Binah. Engeve. Kaitzur.

We were headed back to Rugnica anyway. So the nighttime here would just be a little bit of an oddity in the middle of the day.

I turned away from the edge and managed to force myself down the stairs into the temple itself.

Saphir was looking over a number of screens at the passage ring, and I sighed and made a beeline over there.

"I thought you were under orders to leave that thing alone?" I asked, more amused than I knew I sounded.

He turned and offered up a small smile, but then immediately looked up at the one screen in particular again. "What do you make of that?"

I looked up, noting that it was one of my Energy-tracking screens. Finding out that the passage rings could track Energies had been a pleasant surprise, and a welcome one.

The screen showed an unusually large gathering of spirit Energies in the Cheagle Woods, and I grimaced. I knew what those numbers meant, and even though the fonons weren't showing it quite as well...

"Monster attack. Given the choice of the Cheagle Woods as a gathering place, I'd say Engeve's about to get hit," I said. "Who's in that area at the moment, do you know?"

Saphir shook his head. "No. That's all on Cantabile's desk at the moment, and she fell asleep an hour ago. No one's really willing to complain about it when she's inching up toward the three-month mark."

I nodded. "Two and a half, but yes, we're getting there... Alright. Put the four of us down as covering it. I don't know if there's anyone there, but monsters in that number means they'll need the firepower. Literal and figurative, both."

Saphir looked amused. "I'll let her know when she wakes up in the morning."

Ifrit was standing off to the side, Dark, Path, and Solace next to him, and all four of them looked amused.

"Well... 'at di'n't take long," Ifrit commented as I walked back over. His arms dropped from where they'd been crossed in front of his chest, and his fires enveloped us again, dropping us in an empty field a ways away from the farming town.

It was broad daylight here, a vast difference from the nighttime that was Eldrant, and I was silently grateful for the light. It woke me back up again.

Being up in the pitch black was one thing if I had just woken up or had only been up for an hour or so.

Otherwise... pitch black meant I was supposed to be asleep, and my body knew it.

As it turned out, the group at Engeve consisted of Selenia and Myre.

Quite literally _just_ Selenia and Myre.

The two of them managed to catch me pretty quickly, and Selenia was grinning when she ran up to is.

"Guess what?" she started, half-bouncing in front of me as I stopped walking to wait for her.

"What?"

"We're up another teleporter."

Which meant... I grinned. "You found another spirit Energy."

She nodded and looked over at Myre, who looked sheepish. "I'd... kinda forgotten that you knew how to slip onto the second plane. We'd have been able to find one weeks ago if we'd thought about it, probably."

I hummed. "Well, at any rate, I hope you two are ready for a fight."

Selenia's cheer vanished instantly as she realized that something was up, and the serious look she wore was such a perfect mirror to Myre's, I had to wonder how it was that most of the group hadn't realized they were really one and the same.

"Gnome?"

"I'm not sure. There's a gathering of monsters in the Cheagle Woods. It's still growing... Possible we could have another St. Binah on our hands, and as much as I hope that it doesn't come to that..."

Myre crossed her arms. "We should probably try to nip that in the bud, if we can."

I nodded. "If not... St. Binah's not that far, and we're now up to three people capable of teleporting," I said. "We can get a message out."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _This chapter originally had an error in it that just had me sitting here, laughing my ass off at myself. When Dark tells Kairi that Gnome killed Masaru himself? This is how the following line originally read: I grimaced. Well. That explained a lot about that mech._

 _...Yes. You read that right. 'Mech.'_

 _I need to stop writing Transformers fanfic alongside this if words like that keep ending up in AEtT. I mean, the curses, I can understand. I use them myself. But... mech?_

 _I should probably stop. But then I wouldn't get my other monthly goal done. So... Oh well._


	62. Chapter 8-7 Part 62

_...I don't even need to say it. All you need to do is look at the quote for the chapter._

 _-squees and bounces around- Go read, go read, go read!_

* * *

"You stabbed him with a construct of pure miasma. No, he was _not_ happy." _–Sync_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.7 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 62**

As it turned out, nipping it in the bud was _not_ possible.

I was damn grateful that we'd gotten the message out to St. Binah and Eldrant that we'd need reinforcements within those first couple of days, because exactly four days after we'd gotten to Engeve, the monsters attacked.

I'd been right, and it was another massive army of monsters. I felt sorry for the cheagles who'd have had to share their woods with this army while it was gathering up, but as the monsters headed for us, I couldn't be bothered to spare more than a little bit of pity.

Ifrit, Dark, Myre, Selenia, Solace, and I were standing in a line with every other fonist that had been stationed in Engeve. Ifrit's presence in the line meant that all of us were charging and holding _multiple_ fire artes with a lot more ease than normal.

Ifrit hadn't wanted to face off against Gnome personally, nor had he really wanted to get involved with this monster army, but there was no way that Engeve would stand if the monsters weren't stopped.

It was possible, but not easy for a fonist to hold as many as five fonic artes to be cast in rapid succession. Most fonists had enough difficulty with holding even a single arte.

Dark had three held already, and was working up a fourth. Solace was holding two, and pulling together a third. Myre and Selenia were both trying to match Dark.

I had five already stored and ready, and was prepping my sixth.

Ifrit shot me an amused look as the line of us waited for the monsters to come into range.

The minute they did, fire erupted across the front line of them, my own blue Infernal Prison standing out against the red flames of the rest of the artes.

Dark's Witches' Circles landed right next to Solace's Prism Gales, the light-elemental artes working just as well as the fire elementals, and each one trying to twist into a Sunset Faith.

For once, Solace was managing to control the combo arte entirely by himself, though I had the feeling that Dark was purposefully making his arts land in such a way as to only trigger a low-power Sunset Faith.

The pair of Myre and Selenia, however, was outright terrifying.

Myre would cast Angel Feathers, and Selenia would cast Fireball, and the result would be Phoenix Feathers, which would heal everyone on our side. That was a good thing, as the line of the six of us plus three fonists we'd pulled from Engeve was all that was out here, and some of the monsters were launching fonic arts of their own. And then they would alternate, and Selenia would cast Angel Feathers and Myre would use Fireball. _That_ would turn into Griffin Feathers, which would set everything they touched on fire. Thankfully, that was aimed at the monsters, not the rest of us.

I was launching Infernal Prison after Infernal Prison, until I finally got to the arte I'd been charging when the monsters had come into range.

This time, rather than simply pointing and willing the fonons on, I had to stop and cast, just like I had outside St. Binah.

This was aimed further back, and I could _feel_ Ifrit boosting my range to make sure the Ancient Nova I was chanting the verse for would strike where it needed to.

I was mildly surprised when a Meteor Storm suddenly added itself to the mess, and glanced over my shoulder the minute I'd finished casting Ancient Nova.

Looked like the reinforcements had shown up, in the form of Jade and a few dozen Malkuth soldiers.

Jade held out Phaïe's Song, and I grunted and took it.

Only because of the distracting weight difference. That was the only reason I was going to go ahead and use it.

Ifrit noticed, and took a half step to the side, letting me start running. Selenia and Myre exchanged a look, and then they looked at the darkly-muttering former-assassin who had been on my right.

Both of them took off after me, Gray Larkspur and Syal's Prayer coming to their hands.

Two Destruction Fields, a Guardian's Pain, and a HelQues later, I became aware that the battle was about to get one hell of a lot harder.

"Gnome's on his way in," I announced.

"Holy crap, you still speak."

I resisted the urge to reach over and smack Myre.

I was on that edge, but wasn't quite willing to let myself tip over it just yet. Because I knew better than to risk letting the monster out when Asch wasn't here to herd me around.

Kade was amused, and I could almost feel it becoming easier to keep that insanity in check. I was grateful for his help, at least, and tore through another dozen monsters with Myre and Selenia sticking close.

That was about how long it took for the ground to start shaking. A moment later, the monsters parted around us, and Sync came racing at us, slamming into Selenia only to be thrown bodily into the nearest monster when the girl turned.

It was rapidly turning into yet another bloodbath, and I hated those _so_ bad...

Myre and Selenia double-teamed Sync, leaving me standing across from Gnome. This was so oddly familiar, and yet, we weren't at the crag.

I growled, and Gnome shifted back.

Then he suddenly _changed_ , growing to his full, giant-ass badger form, and even as I felt Ifrit pulling in the fifth fonons he'd need to do the same, my patience snapped.

I knew the theory behind summoning Kade properly...

Now was not the time for that.

The miasma washed out from my body and formed up into Kade's body. He was smaller than Gnome, but his form was as familiar to me as my own body was, regardless of the massive differences between having two arms and four.

Kade was as ready for a fight as I was, and I was _not_ letting Ifrit get in the middle of this. This wasn't just another fight...

It was damn near time for Gnome to give us Sync back. And it would take a good deal of distraction to stop Gnome from stopping _me_ from reclaiming my best friend.

Gnome growled out a few curses, and the earth shook underneath us. It didn't surprise me in the least that while the battle was still raging around us, it was staying well away from the two giants facing off against each other.

Gnome was larger, but that made no difference to me. Kade didn't move fast when he fought humans, because it was just a little something he gave them to help even up the odds.

I didn't bother to use his slow pace.

Claws blocked one sword, but the second sword got past, and then I was spinning, bringing the other two in for an attack, and Gnome was forced to duck one and block the other.

Four limbs versus two. Miasma against the embodiment of the earth.

It didn't surprise me that the empty circle around us was growing wider and wider as the miasma and broken earth around us expanded.

Gnome was taking the brunt of the damage, every slash of one of the four swords in Kade's hands doing damage, whereas Kade's body would break, only to reform again as it pulled on the miasma floating around.

My own body, my human body, was safely ensconced in Kade's ribcage.

Gnome's claws extended, managing to cut straight through both left arms, and Kade screeched out, whether in pain or anger, I didn't know.

One of the blades was an almost perfect replica of Silver Clematis, albeit a much larger Silver Clematis.

This was the blade I managed to stab through Gnome's body, and the badger _screamed_.

Then he simply... fell apart, the second fonons turning into a mass of earth that fell, and knocked down anything close enough to be caught under it.

The miasma faded, and my awareness returned to its normal range as I was left standing there in my human body once again.

Within seconds, however, the sudden lack of miasma in my systems had a bit of an unforeseen side-effect, and I stumbled, hitting the ground myself.

Gnome was down for now—I knew better than to think he'd been defeated for long when he was made up of nothing but fonons—but I'd just exhausted myself as well.

But I still had work to do, and there were monsters coming up on me, looking for an easy kill.

I pulled on the miasma, drawing it back to me, and the dizzy spell ended enough for me to stand and draw Silver Clematis. I was tired, and disoriented, but this was a battlefield, and I needed to survive.

Sheer willpower kept me moving, kept me cutting through every monster that tried to attack me, and Phaïe's Song joined Silver Clematis in the slaughter as I became surrounded.

Gnome had been defeated, and it looked like his eggbears were not at all pleased about it.

Syal's Prayer killed an eggbear that had been aiming for my back, and in seconds, Selenia and Myre were both there, watching my back, and Sync...

Sync was fighting. Actively fighting the eggbears, and not just hitting them with White Tempests and Turbulences every time they got in his way.

Because that... that was a Ground Dasher he'd just launched under a group of Rhinossus.

It only took one glance for me to realize that I wasn't just seeing things.

Sync's eyes were green.

I cut through the last of the eggbears attacking us, and could see the difference immediately in the rest of the monsters.

Three fonic artes, a Guardian's Pain, and an Akashic Torment followed up by a relieved Sorcerer's Rage later, and I realized that it was over already.

I glanced around, realizing that the worst of the damage was cosmetic, or was just miasma floating around.

Sync was pale, but his eyes were _green_...

And that was the last triumphant thought I had before the world went dark.

When I woke up again, I was back in Eldrant. I knew, because I'd laid down a telepathic field immediately to determine how outnumbered I was, and had found three things.

Asch. Jade.

Sync.

I inhaled as deeply as I could, opened my eyes, and sat up, swinging my legs out of the bed and striding out of the room before Jade could react.

The yelp and crash I heard a moment later, which would have been the result of Jade trying to follow me and instead simply falling out of his chair, would have been hilarious, if I weren't currently a woman on a mission.

Asch was with Sync.

And from the fact that he damn near fell out of _his_ chair when I strode in, they hadn't been expecting me to wake up.

I didn't waste time with words, simply laid down next to my little brother and closed my eyes. And then...

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _The mountains were visible. All of the wind, the clouds, had stagnated. The world around me was..._ wrong _._

 _And from the slight breeze I could feel, the whisper on the wind that sounded like a tired sigh, I had a feeling Sync had given up trying to fix it in favor of rest._

 _The problem was, this left him vulnerable. Because I'd gotten in, and I wasn't sure if he was actually here or not._

 _Looking around, I was able to follow the path of the rope bridges, and made it to about where Asch, Jade, and Dark should have found themselves unable to proceed._

 _Asch had gotten through in my mindscape, but that didn't mean I needed or wanted to do the same in Sync's._

 _It didn't surprise me in the least that Sync's sanctuary was on the tallest mountain in the entire mindscape. Didn't surprise me that I could see damage from more than just the choking earth here._

 _I growled, low and angry, but the anger was gone a second later, because something had just slammed into my back._

 _Something that was smaller than I was, and was now clinging to me._

" _Kairi!"_

 _I twisted, wriggling around until I could wrap Sync up as well, and the two of us stood there for a while, just holding on to each other desperately._

 _I knew Sync would feel me if I came in this far..._

 _I ran my fingers through his hair, careful not to muss up his usual style too badly, and even as Sync finally realized that he was bawling and tried to pull away, I held him close._

" _Shh... I'm here..."_

 _Sync let himself slump into me, and I just sat down, pulling the teen into my lap and keeping him pressed against me._

 _It was only because I was keeping Sync so very carefully wrapped up, both his physical manifestation here, and also his mindscape in general, that I felt the intrusion._

 _I growled softly, and Sync curled into me further._

 _As it turned out, I needn't have worried about Rem._

 _It was just Asch, walking up the mountain to join us._

" _You two... gonna be okay?" he asked, very obviously re-wording his sentence halfway through._

 _I nodded. "Yes."_

" _No," Sync muttered._

"Yes, _" I insisted. "He's not getting you back."_

 _Sync shoved his face into my chest, and while one of us normally would have been embarrassed, right now I knew he was still trapped inside a nightmare. I rested my head on his. "You know I can't help make it better if I don't know what's wrong, little brother," I murmured._

 _Asch looked over the two of us for a minute before he simply faded out, and I made a note to thank him later._

 _Sync would need his friend, soon... but I had a feeling right now, he just needed his sister._

" _I thought..." Sync started before shaking his head. "I'm_ not _trash... You told me that again and again, and Asch, and Selenia, and Solace... But..."_

" _Shh..." I ran one hand up and down his back, even as the other pressed him closer. "Gnome's_ angry _, Sync. Not with you, not with me..." I stopped and reconsidered that. "Okay, probably with me, but I'm kinda angry at him, so..."_

 _Sync made a hiccup sound that might have been the start of a laugh. "You stabbed him with a construct of pure miasma. No, he was_ not _happy."_

 _I smiled. "He was holding my little brother and forcing him to fight. He deserved it."_

" _Thank you."_

 _I stopped and looked down, because it looked like Sync had finally managed to collect himself, mostly. "For what?"_

 _Sync smirked. "Between Gnome's distraction fighting you, the pain from a miasma sword through the gut, the White Tempest I was trying to use, and that green axe Selenia whacked me with, I finally managed to pull enough third fonons in to force out the second fonons."_

 _I smiled. Cancelling out the fonons Gnome used to control him with their opposite... "Good job."_

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I'm going to shove off one of the_ three _I had for this chapter to next chapter, and one will be saved for Part 76._

 _For this chapter, I'm sticking to HelQues._

 _No, that was not a misspelling of DelQues. DelQues means 'Wings of Death' or, quite literally, in the case of Walter's true name, 'Black Wings.' ZelDelQues means 'Wings of Destruction'. That 'zel' just indicates that it's a stronger DelQues._

 _Kairi's HelQues. 'He' is the Relares rune for 'curse'. Therefore, the literal translation here is 'Cursed Wings'. It's still a teriques, kinda... just a seriously miasma-laden teriques. A miasma-laden teriques with a very high kill rate, seeing as the amount of miasma is enough to kill a human within a few hours if it's not immediately removed. And humans are more resilient than monsters when it comes to poison like the miasma suddenly invading their system like that. (Relares will be coming up again later, by the way.)  
_


	63. Chapter 8-8 Part 63

_And here's 63... I've got up through Part 80 written now, so I think I can afford to stop writing for a day in favor of prepping/posting chapters. Hooray for 10k days when I'm already ahead. Oh, and as of now, I've officially hit the 200k word mark. The Main Arcs alone shouldn't hit the 300k mark, but I think once I've gotten ADL, AFD, and the DotNW part of ATS written, I'll be adding another rather large amount of writing to AEtT for the Future Arcs. So all in all, it'll probably top out somewhere in the 400k word range._

 _Also, if you're interested, go check out Silver Waters. A little bit of insight into the head and past of one of my many OCs can never hurt, right?_

* * *

" _I think we can be forgiven for insanity... Well, not_ you _, Kairi. You're on a totally different level of 'insane' that I don't ever want to even touch." –Myre_

* * *

 **Chapter 8.8 – Stubborn Earth  
Part 63**

Sync and I were sitting by one of the glowing springs later that week, and while Sync was still absolutely thrilled by the glowing water, I was keeping an eye out—or rather, a telepathic field—for the rest of our friends.

It had taken me _hours_ to get Sync calmed down enough to clean up his mindscape some, and then we'd both left his mindscape, eaten, and immediately fallen back asleep.

Then I'd started training him, the exact same way I'd trained Dark.

After the third time of falling beneath the barrier, Sync's mindscape had simply torn apart of its own accord, _changed_ , and I'd damn near had a panic attack...

Until I'd realized that the fire, the volcanoes, the lava floes... they'd just replaced the mountains. The majority of Sync's mindscape was still very much _air_.

It was the earth that didn't make him feel safe anymore.

I'd smiled, pulled him close, and then pulled him into my own mindscape to show him why I'd initially panicked when his had changed.

He'd taken it just as Dark had. A bit of freaked out, followed up by worry for _me_ because of how I'd kept it hidden for so long.

Which was part of why we were now _here_.

Sync needed _water_ , since he'd accidentally burned a lot of it out trying to restabilize himself, and I needed to _drink_ some water, because I hadn't thought to refill my canteen while we were back in Eldrant before going to Engeve to deal with Gnome's next attack.

The two of us were here, being good and allowing ourselves to recover from everything, but Sync still wasn't quite ready to face the rest of our friends. Mostly because, while he couldn't have fought Gnome, he still remembered everything that had happened between Grand Chokmah and Engeve.

Which... was a bit of a can of worms.

Especially since the first person to find us and not take my mental shoving to heart was Myre.

Myre, who stubbornly brushed me off, and plopped down next to me like I _wasn't_ trying to get her to go away.

Sync looked over at her, blinked, and then looked up at me. "On that note. Why is there suddenly two of Selenia?"

I snorted. "Sync, Myre. Myre, I don't need to introduce you," I muttered irritably. "Myre's been time-travelling."

Sync just kept blinking for a while, before he shook his head and looked at the water again. "Okay. So I'm not crazy."

"Nope."

Myre hummed. "Actually, that's questionable. Then again... We've all survived Gnome for a few months already, or years in my case, so I think we can be forgiven for insanity." Then she paused. "Well, not _you_ , Kairi. You're on a totally different level of 'insane' that I don't ever want to even _touch_."

I smirked. "Are you talking about the cackling I was doing on the battlefield outside St. Binah?"

"Actually, I was thinking about the fact that you decided taking on a fucking _sentience_ , _twice_ , was a good idea."

"And I did it alone the second time."

Myre shuddered. "Yeah, well, can you stop turning yourself into the Sword Dancer to do it please?"

"I'm sorry, did you miss the part where Gnome was a twenty-foot-tall badger? Because I don't know about you, but I really didn't like my odds of fighting a twenty-foot-tall badger on my own. You and Selenia were a little preoccupied."

Myre scowled.

"And also... Rem."

"Rem doesn't count. You two keep fighting on the third plane."

"Daath."

Myre opened her mouth to argue, thought better of it, and just sat back on her hands irritably. "Daath," she finally conceded.

Sync snorted. "Do I even _want_ to know?"

"Rem showed up in Daath, there was a fight, Rem turned into a dragon, and Kade decided _he_ wanted to play, so... yeah."

Sync rolled his eyes. "Who's Kade?"

"Sword Dancer."

"And since when are you capable of turning into him, anyway? I'd been meaning to ask..."

"Oh, apparently I'm the Agent of the Miasma."

Sync blinked, and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't get it anymore than most of the rest of the group does. I just know that I'm now immune to miasma and if Kade feels like fighting, I can basically turn into him. It's interesting, at least."

Myre hummed. "Rialle still has..."

"I know," I cut in, shooting Myre a pointed look. She blinked at me, then seemed to realize why I'd been trying to keep everyone away.

Her wince told me enough, and she stood up. "I'm gonna go see if Rhunön feels like being bothered."

"In lieu of Rhunön, should she prove uninterested in company, see if Saphir's figured out what the frag's glitching in the passage ring setup."

Myre tilted her head to the side. "Passage ring glitch?"

"It's not here, but somewhere in the network there's a glitch, and last I knew, we hadn't found it yet."

"Noted." Myre turned and walked off, and I didn't miss Sync's sigh of relief.

Still... I wouldn't be able to keep everyone away for much longer.

"So, it's going to be official. You're definitely my nephew."

Sync, who had been playing around with the water a bit, lifted his head and looked over at me. "Huh?"

"Jade and Cantabile are getting married."

Sync blanched. "What?"

I nodded. "And Asch is the king."

"But, Natalia..." Sync stopped, eyes going unfocused. "That's why Gnome was so sad, wasn't it? He was all sad, and then _almost_ happy at one point, but he forced it down."

I hummed. "From what we could tell, Gnome was once in a similar position to Dark. Common soldier, or acting as one at least, fell in love with a princess... Problem is... Anastasia married a duke. From what Dark's said... it sounds like she wasn't quite so kind as Natalia. And... Undine buried Baticul in a blizzard, notably after killing King Ingobert. The council wouldn't let Natalia ascend to the throne unless she married someone else..."

"Natalia chose Dark over the throne?"

I nodded. "Not that it's stopped her from taking care of her people. And Dark's been wearing his uniform a hell of a lot more than his used to, mostly just to spite the bastards. Apparently he's already ripped into them twice."

Sync chuckled. "Remind me not to piss him off."

I hummed. "I think that's the general opinion now."

"I'm just glad he's alive... I..." Sync stopped and took a deep breath. "I remember, when Gnome first hit me with that mass of fonons, I... I know I hit him."

And this was why I'd silently told Myre where to shove it when she tried to bring up the fact that Rialle still had the Black Rose daggers.

"I taught Natalia a lot about Energies while she and I were prisoners in Northern Rugnica," I said. "So she knew how to clear out poison. Dark was smart, got up on Sorylle's back the second he could, did his damndest to slow his heart rate, and Natalia started healing him the instant they were on the Albiore. Sounded like Dark had been experimenting with the poison in his off time, too."

Sync pulled his knees up to his chest. "They're gone now..."

"Rialle has them," I corrected him, noting the sad note to his voice. He frowned over at me.

"But... at Myno's monolith..."

"Kade's practically a part of me now, Sync. And he _made_ those things. So when I asked him to take them from you..." I shrugged. "We had to hand them off to Rialle so he wouldn't accidentally re-integrate them into himself, but even so..."

Sync offered up a small smile, then let his eyes drift back to the water. He apparently found the glowing water fascinating, and I'd managed to get him to drink some of it, so if he wanted to keep playing with it, that was up to him.

One of the plants around the edge of the spring was flowering, and the petals were starting to glow, too. The sight made me smile when I noticed it, and I pointed it out to Sync.

He glanced over at me and got that familiar glint in his eye that I'd been starting to worry Gnome had snuffed out. "You keep drinking the water, too. Are you gonna start glowing?"

I snorted. "Brat. I already glow. On the second plane. Miss Eleven Spirit Energies, remember?"

Sync and I laughed a bit, and he finally stood up, glancing down at his coat. "Um... I think I want to change."

I nodded, and led him off to the little had-been shrine. He still had his wing pack, and the only people who came here frequently were Myre and Selenia.

So I leaned in the doorway, keeping an eye out for anyone coming this way, while Sync changed out of the coat either York or Peony had made for him.

It didn't surprise me that his white Order of Lorelei uniform, the one you see him wear in the last parts of the game, was what he replaced the white coat with. It was about the only thing he had that wasn't about to fall apart, at least.

Sync looked over at me—which instantly had me miffed, because when did my little brother get that inch?—and smiled, looking a lot steadier now.

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "So. Now what?"

"Now... I think we need to let Asch know he can stop panicking about us."

I snorted. "Sync, darling, Asch is the only sane one of the three of us. It's his _job_ to panic."

Sync snickered along with me, and I sighed as we walked along. Cantabile wasn't showing yet, and I'd kinda not wanted to spring that on Sync yet, but she and Jade were... er... busy, I guessed, given that they were once again practically right on top of each other. I was _not_ paying close enough attention to those two to figure out if they actually were, and I had a feeling that _someone_ would mention Thys—sadly, the name had spread across Eldrant like wildfire, though thankfully Jade was just amused—so...

"I figure I ought to warn you..."

"Uh oh."

"You're going to be an older brother."

Sync snorted. "Thought I already was?"

"Solace and Florian don't count, they're fellow replicas."

I let that sink in for a moment, and wasn't too surprised when Sync simply _stopped_.

"...Mom?"

I nodded. "I was going to let her tell you, but... She's busy."

I was grateful that Sync didn't seem inclined to ask what I meant by 'busy.'

Instead... "How... How far along...?"

I shrugged. "Inching up toward the three month mark. She's not showing yet. Unfortunately, thanks to a combination of Myre and some random woman overhearing, the entirety of Eldrant knows it's going to be a boy, and his name with will Amethyst."

"And Myre's certain about that because..."

"The timeline split a few hours after the Monolith of Syal exploded. Thys was conceived in Chesedonia almost a week previously."

"I'm guessing this is the reason for the marriage?"

I shook my head. "I... might have overheard Jade proposing... He'd already planned to propose, and was upset when Myre spilled the beans that Cantabile was pregnant. Asch and I already knew when it happened, but... yeah. Anyway, he was upset, said it felt like bad timing."

I stopped there as something occurred to me. Because...

I started humming 'Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?', and Sync frowned for a moment before he started humming along.

The ease with which he did so told me enough, and as we hit the second chorus, I started actually singing.

" _It was the best damn kiss that I ever had, except for that long one after that, and I knew if I wanted this thing to last, sooner or later I'd have to ask... for your hand, so I took a chance, bought a wedding band and I got down on one knee, and you smiled and said to me, Are you gonna kiss me or not?"_ Sync snorted, and gave up on humming even as I continued. _"Are we gonna do this or what? I think you know I love you a lot, I think we got a real good shot, are you gonna kiss me or not~?"_

"That... sounds so much like mom."

"That is exactly how she responded to Jade's proposal. And, I'm guessing, how they ended up sharing a bed in the first place," I replied.

Sync looked up at me, and I knew that whatever Gnome had broken in him, I'd just managed to fix it. "So... do you think we'll get shot for singing that at the wedding?"

I grinned right back. "I was about to say, if we can get this mess dealt with in time... I could probably snap back to Earth and learn the guitar chords."

Sync chuckled. "Guess it's a deal, then." Then he stopped and sighed. "So... Queen of Kimlascan, huh?"

I groaned. "Stop. Reminding me. Gods. And you also have to consider that your mother is more than likely just going to retire, hand me the Commandant of the Order Lorelei position _permanently_ , and then run off cackling like the madwoman she is."

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. We're a whole family of maniacs. And your point is?"

"I'm not changing my name to Balfour."

I smiled.

"I _like_ Osborne."

I ruffled Sync's hair, even if it wasn't as easy to do as it used to be.

"Oi!"

I pulled the teen close. "I missed you, little brother."

Sync leaned into me, and we started walking again. "I know... I missed you so much... I just wanted _out_ , but I couldn't get out and then I kept having to fight you and..." He stopped and took a deep breath. "You were... _really_ terrifying outside St. Binah, you know that? Gods, I think I heard you _cackling_ at one point, and totally covered in blood..."

I hummed. "Yeah. I managed to terrify Dark and Asch as well. Actually, I take that back. I terrified _everyone_. And if you ever wanted to know what a pissed off Jade on a battlefield would look like if he were a melee fighter and not a fonist? Well, now you know."

"Hehe, yeah... Let's not do that again anytime soon, please?"

I shrugged. "If the situation calls for it, I will. Letting the monster inside out to play makes battles like that easier for everyone on my side. I don't like it much, myself, though. I damn near killed _you_ a couple times, and Asch, Dark, and Twilight had to keep me away from the soldiers and fonists."

"There you two are."

Sync glanced over his shoulder as Dark joined to us, throwing an arm around Sync's shoulders.

"Welcome home."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay, apparently the other one from last chapter will have to wait._

 _Sync's mindscape shift, from the pure mountains to the volcanoes. This will not be permanent. Sync is still very firmly earth-elemental, even if wind is his primary, and it will change back once he's had time to come to terms with Gnome's actions. That said, given that Sync really isn't all that aligned with fire or water, why would it pop up as volcanoes?_ Especially _considering Sync's past with Mt. Zaleho?_

 _Because of Kairi. This is something that is very much her fault._

 _Kairi is very much_ fire _. This is something Sync's associated with her from the moment he first saw her back in Keterburg. If you go read his Meeting chapter in Colored Ripples, you'll note that he's rather focused on her vibrant hair color, which has since repeatedly been compared to fire._

 _The reason why the mountains were replaced by volcanoes instead of a volcanic plain similar to Kairi's mindscape has a lot to do with the fact that Sync is earth-elemental._

 _Kairi, and therefore_ fire _,is safety. Volcanoes are mountains (earth) that contain fire, in the form of molten rock (more earth)._

 _Being thrown into the mouth of Mt. Zaleho pales in comparison to being controlled by Gnome and forced to fight—and, in the case of Dark back in Grand Chokmah—nearly kill his friends, all of whom have accepted him as his own person, not just a(nother) replica of Ion (Solace and, to a lesser extent, Anise and Luke for much of early AST) or a piece of meat (Van, Mohs, Zion)._

 _And I will be nice and cut the lecture here._


	64. Chapter 8-9 Part 64

_...I just realized that I'm trying to finish Chapter 11 and am just now posting Chapter 9._

 _I have a love-hate relationship with getting that far ahead. Really. (Also, I can't seem to remember the 'a' at the beginning of 'ahead'. I keep just typing 'head'.)_

 _I also have a love-hate relationship with this chapter. Myre and I were trying to get things done, and poor Sync is all sorts of confuzzled, but apparently hilarity needed to ensue. I blame Saphir. For should-be obvious reasons._

* * *

" _Does anybody else sense impending disaster?" –Asch_

" _Did Shadow's decision to mentally revert to a three-year-old have anything to do with you all?" –Saphir_

 **Chapter 8.9 – Stubborn Earth  
**

* * *

 **Part 64**

 **Sync's POV**

I wasn't ready for this, I realized quite suddenly as Kairi pulled me up to the large space on top of the main temple where they'd been leaving the Albiores lately.

 _Everyone_ was here.

Kairi still had me half-tucked into her side, and there was the older Selenia—Myre, her name was Myre—and Dark and Natalia, and Asch and Jade, and Seth, Flick, Solace, Rialle, Anise, Tear...

"Sync!"

I didn't quite dare to glance back, but Kairi was already pulling away, and that meant...

Selenia slammed into me with a level of force I hadn't been expecting, and knocked the both of us to the ground.

"You're up! You're okay!"

I managed to twist around and reluctantly hugged her back, a fuzzy memory of attacking her still firmly planted in my mind.

"...Yeah..."

"Normally, I'd be all for letting you two have your reunion," Myre started. "But I had Kairi collecting everyone up for a reason."

"Can I kick Gnome's ass _now_?"

I snorted, and just like that, most of the tension I'd been carrying around was gone.

Count on Selenia to say something like that.

She got to her feet and helped me up, even as Luke and Aerith walked past us, Hue running up a few seconds later and looking comically panicked that he was running late.

"So, now that everyone's here," Myre started as I kept glancing around.

Wait a sec.

"Wait, where are Reighn and Guy?"

Silence met my question for a long few minutes, and I got the horrible sinking feeling that I hadn't been the only person they'd lost to Gnome and Undine.

"Reighn's in a coma. At this point, we're just waiting for him to wake up," Kairi replied. She bit her lip then, and from the worried look Asch was shooting her, I knew all too well that Guy's fate had been worse.

"Guy... was lost in Chesedonia, just before we headed for Engeve to stop Gnome," she finally managed.

"If Undine didn't immediately send him right back at them... He must have drowned," Myre added.

I swallowed, because I knew exactly why she'd phrased it that way.

If Guy, who I _knew_ was one of the best swimmers the group had, had fallen in the water and not come up immediately, it meant something had stopped him. Likely Undine.

The second Gnome had taken control of me, I'd attacked Dark. So if Undine hadn't taken control of Guy and sent him after them, Myre was right. He'd have drowned.

Maybe it was selfish of me, but I felt unbelievably relieved that neither Reighn's fate or Guy's was something I'd contributed to, unwillingly as I might have done it.

"So, what's the convention for?"

I yelped, twisting and shooting my arm out to hit whoever the hell had snuck up on me as I jumped away.

A surprised 'oomph' escaped the young man who'd been behind me, even as the rest of the group broke into snickers, which intensified when he bent over and made a pained sound, holding his stomach where I'd managed to hit him rather hard.

I blinked a few times, trying to put a name to the unfamiliar face.

Oddly, he looked an awful lot like a hybrid of Jade and Dark.

Another man walked up the steps behind him, took one look at him, my stance, and the way everyone else was snickering... and promptly threw his head back and laughed. The worst part was... I was fairly certain that was the same dark-skinned man we'd found in Grand Chokmah. Who'd turned into _Ifrit_.

So... That was Ifrit. Who was laughing his ass off at the scene in front of him.

"If you keep that up, you're going to get that replica body _killed_ one of these days, Shadow," Kairi mused, sounding far too amused.

The man took a deep breath, shot her a glare, and then stepped well around me to go stand next to Jade.

That was about when the name she'd dropped finally registered in my head.

"...Shadow?!"

Kairi grinned at me, and I wasn't sure whether to run for cover or grin right back. "Yes. Congregate sentience of the first fonon. I'm pretty sure everyone's gotten a good whack in on him by now. He's _quite_ fond of using our own shadows to sneak up on us. Mind you, keep an eye on the second plane, and you can't miss him. Thirty-six spirit Energies tend to get rather damn _bright_."

Shadow scowled, even as Ifrit walked up next to me and grinned. "Nice ta see ya again."

I blinked at him, then at Shadow, and then looked back at him before something in the air caught my attention.

"Whee!"

Kairi sighed, took half a step to the right—notably _away_ from Asch—and held her arms out, catching the colorful blur I'd spotted. "Missed you too, Sylph."

"Lorelei's running late."

Myre pressed a hand to her forehead. "You four don't really need to be here anyway. The Lorelei and Shadow in my timeline tried and have already proven that you guys _can't_ use Æther."

"Ah, is that what this is for?"

Kairi snickered. "Yeah. So see? You didn't _need_ to socked in the gut after all."

Shadow shot her another irritable look before vanishing. Kairi held Sylph out and the girl with the fairy wings floated there for a second even as Shadow reappeared behind Kairi.

Only to get an oddly-misty elbow to the face.

The curse Shadow let out wasn't exactly understandable, but by the time he was looking up at Kairi again, Sylph was settled on her hip like a child, and Kairi was smiling at him and feigning innocence.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing. "Shadow. There's a phrase we humans like to use. 'Give up while you're still ahead.'"

The man vanished a second later, and from the amused look Kairi was shooting around and her more gold than green eyes, he was actually gone this time.

"So... Æther. I'm guessing that's the not-fonons you keep using against the unfriendly sentiences?" Kairi asked, not looking at all inclined to put Sylph down anytime soon.

Myre seemed to have noticed that as well.

"You know, you're probably going to need both hands."

Kairi shrugged. "I'll live." She stopped and frowned behind me, and I decided that it might be a good idea to get out of the proverbial doorway.

I'm kinda glad I moved _before_ looking to see who'd shown up _now_ , because...

"Why the fuck is Dist here?"

Kairi looked about ready to actually answer the question when Asch facepalmed. "Does anybody else sense impending disaster?"

There was a moment of silence, and then everyone _except_ me, Dist, and the two sentiences in the area started laughing again. Even Myre.

Dist looked utterly baffled. Sylph was so beyond confused that I had to squash down the urge to call her adorable. And Ifrit looked far too interested in finding out whatever the joke was for me to trust him.

"...Ah... Poor pile of junk. It probably doesn't even exist anymore..." Kairi muttered between evil-sounding giggles.

Pile of junk? What the hell did a pile of junk have to do with—

Saphir. _Rappig_ Saphir. Pile of junk. Falling into the pile of junk. Getting pulled out of said pile, only for it collapse. Kairi's frying pan.

And a running joke/complaint.

" _Because Dist hates me in every form he takes."_

I groaned. "I'm doomed."

And of course my 'friends,' evil as they were, just started laughing harder.

"I've obviously missed the joke," Dist muttered.

"Yes, a little bit. Did you need something? Myre was actually trying to teach us something, but... distractions." Kairi shrugged. "Hilarious distractions, but distractions."

Dist sighed. "Did Shadow's decision to mentally revert to a three-year-old have anything to do with you all?"

...What?

Kairi snickered. "He snuck up on Sync and got socked in the gut. And then tried to whack me for teasing him about it and got an elbow to the face for his efforts."

Dist started massaging away a headache. "That explains so much..." And then turned and left again.

I shot Kairi a baffled look, and she shrugged. "Shadow and Saphir are isofons. So when you consider that Saphir's had a sentience poking around in his head since he was a child, it explains a lot about _him_ too."

...And when did Kairi start calling him 'Saphir'?

I pulled out my bag and started rifling through it, wondering if that notepad and pen were still in here. Whatever the hell 'eether' was, Myre was trying to teach us to use it, which meant a Q & A session right now would not please her...

Kairi held out the two items I was looking for, and I quickly scribbled down the list that was starting to form in my head.

From the chuckles, everybody was amused by _this,_ too.

Given the last couple of months everyone had had, I really couldn't blame them for taking amusement out of every little thing they could.

Once I'd stuck the notepad and pen in my bag, I looked over at Myre, who was glancing around and still giving Sylph and Ifrit exasperated looks.

Finally, she sighed and shook her head, apparently deciding to let it go.

"Alright. Well. I'm not exactly the teaching type, but unfortunately, my Guy isn't here and yours is dead, so I'm S-O-L." A couple people snorted, myself included, but I knew it wasn't really funny.

"Thing is... It took my Sync two years to figure out how the mutation from Energies to fonons works," Myre continued. "We've got Kairi, so _hopefully_ that's not going to be too much of a problem, but... it started as us trying to _de_ volve fonons, so the sentiences would have less ammunition to throw at us. And then Guy sorta screwed it up, in a good way. Instead of undoing the initial mutation, he accidentally mutated the fonons _further_. Three months later, everyone who was still alive of this group, minus the sentiences for obvious reasons, was able to use the result, which our Jade named Æther."

Kairi glanced around. "Dare I ask how many were already dead at that point, if I had to remind you just how many people we needed space for earlier?"

Myre grimaced. "Asch at Baticul. Aerith and Hue never actually made it to Eldrant. Anise went the same way this timeline's Guy did, albeit technically a year from now. Tear and Solace were under the Soil Tree when it fell, which should have happened at the St. Binah battle, but didn't. And... after Guy first found out about Æther, but _before_ everyone learned to use it and Jade gave it the name, we lost Reighn and Rialle. So yes, it was a smaller group before."

Kairi hummed. "So... mutating the mutated Energies."

Myre nodded. "Yes. Um... It's kinda hard to explain it now after doing it for so long... At first, it's going to be really difficult. I've got... well, I _should_ have a bit of an abnormality in my Energy Core."

From Kairi's mostly-gold eyes, Asch's oddly blue-green, and Dark's much lighter eyes, the three of them just managed to beat me into slipping halfway onto the second plane.

"Ah, I see it. That little bulb-looking thing."

Now that I knew what I was looking for, spotting it was easy.

Myre shrugged. "I... guess? Anyway, that's something that formed after a while. It makes the whole thing a lot easier. The thing it, I have to _constantly_ be pulling fonons through that spot during a fight if I want to use Æther the whole time. Part of why I typically save it for big artes and my Mystic Arte," she said. "It doesn't matter what type of fonon you start with. The Æther that comes out will work with whatever arte you're trying to use, as the nature of casting an arte means you draw in more fonons anyway."

I shifted slightly. That was useful...

"However, going up against Gnome, Rem, and Undine themselves, I've always tried to use the opposite element. Charging up Æther with a single fonon type makes for one hell of an impact when it hits something." Myre paused here and sighed. "So... First step is the same as casting any arte. Draw in the fonons. Pulling on the Energies inside your own Core is a little more difficult, and... not something I can really help with. My Sync had to explain most of that."

Kairi hummed. "Think you could do it real quick while I'm watching? I've managed to mutate Energies into fonons and I do actually know how to do it in reverse as well, so maybe if I _see_ what I'm working with, I'll be able to help you explain it a bit better."

Myre stared at her for a few moments, but then seemed to shake it off and took a casting stance.

A faint fonic glyph formed, but then... nothing.

On the first plane, at least.

If I hadn't been watching the second plane, I wouldn't have seen the Æther. It was... Well. Energies were colored blobs that shifted, like water droplets in the air. Fonons were perfect spheres.

Æther was... it looked like mist from here. But I could almost see the separate little spheres, and the tiny links from each sphere to the next, and the way each link would break, reform with another sphere, and do it over again.

And then the links seemed to jerk back into the spheres, some of the spheres collapsing into each other, and the fonons and Energies started floating away.

Kairi smirked. "Now _that_... is a neat trick. If you were aiming to un-mutate the fonons, you came close."

All of us looked at her in confusion, and she sighed and looked down at Sylph. "Sorry, sweetheart. I need both hands."

Sylph just grinned at her and took to floating right over her shoulder.

Kairi raised the first hand in a tight fist. "Let's call this a fonon." The second hand came up in a looser fist, with two fingers purposefully half-sticking out of the fist. "And this is an elemental Energy." Kairi clapsed her hands together, then pulled them apart in two tight fists, but with her pointer fingers still touching at the tips. "And this is Æther."

Myre blinked at her, facepalmed, and then snorted. "Well. I guess that's one way to do a simple explanation."

Kairi grinned and let her hands fall again. "You're not quite mutating the fonons. It's really more a case of fusion. Which means a lot of the actual _fusing_ is being done by the moon Energies in your Energy Core. Word of warning to everyone—if you're not a fonist by nature, this means creating Æther is going to be harder for you than the fonists."

Myre hummed. "Guess that's true. Luke never really _did_ figure it out."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _That one I've put off for two chapters, from back in Part 62. Yeah. That._

 _Sync managing to shove off Gnome's control._

 _A large part of it_ was _due to the overuse of third fonons and Kairi distracting Gnome with the miasma sword to the gut, yes. However, that wasn't actually all of it._

 _Sync's been trained by Kairi to know his Energy Core, feel it, and pull on it when needed. What Sync did was really kinda similar to what happened to Asch back in Re:ARitA, when he and Kairi got stuck in Kairi's body at Aramis Spring. Sync used the wind fonons to keep Gnome's fonons at bay long enough to literally tear his soul free from his Energy Core. With no soul to keep in place, and the mass amount of third fonons, Gnome's second fonons scattered._

 _Since there wasn't anything stopping it—like, say, a good bit of distance created by a teleportation circle & hyperresonance—Sync's soul snapped right back into alignment with his Energy Core._

 _Humans are built to_ survive _. Logically, even though the presence of Energies here means they can actually completely separate soul from body, their souls/Energy Cores would do their damndest to correct this. It's right up there with why that barrier keeps forming even after they've fallen into a crack in their mindscapes. (Though that barrier notably doesn't affect intruders, as we see with Kairi when she's training Dark.)  
_


	65. Chapter 9-1 Part 65

_So! This chapter._

 _RKamelot asked me once about Combo Arte stuff, and mentioned trying to make a Seasons' Rage. As it turned out, I'd already done so. The results can be seen down below._

 _(And if you're all getting as sick of these huge ass battles as I am, don't worry. I think we have, uh... One more. And that one gets mostly glossed over, anyway. So, yeah. We're getting there! I promise!)_

* * *

" _Of course. When does Reighn_ not _use water?" –Rialle_

" _Water is winter and north, and blah, blah, blah, I'll explain in full later if I have to." –Kairi_

" _Well, that's what happens when you throw a four-points Energy circle at a problem. It blows up. Magnificently." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.1 – Melody of Memory  
Part 65**

I hated battles like this. Hated them. With a passion.

Good news for my allies, I was channeling that hatred into slaughtering the massive number of monsters around us.

Bad news in general...

Asch wasn't here. So Myre, Sync, and Rialle, who'd been put on herding duty, were having a hard time actually herding me anywhere.

Which might have explained why we were just sorta floating around for most of the morning.

"Is she tired yet?" I heard Rialle ask as a lull in the monsters had me coming back to my senses enough to actually understand human speech.

I managed to actually process that question, and then realized that the answer, unfortunately... "Yes, actually."

"Hey. Look. It talks."

I shot Sync a look, and he shot it right back at me. Myre just sighed.

"Let's not fight amongst each other please. The monsters are bad enough."

I nodded and attacked the garuda thing trying to hit Rialle.

Sync groaned. "I feel like we're beating our heads against a wall for all the progress we're making."

Myre hummed. "I know the feeling... I wonder..."

I glanced over at her. "I'm not sure whether to be amused or worried by that tone of voice."

"Hanging with us for a bit?" Myre muttered irritably. "Anyway... the last big battle before Thys was born, Jade, Seth, Reighn, and Sync managed to create some kind of... I don't know. It was a combo arte, like Luke and Solace's Sunset Faith and that massive purple explosion that happened the one time when you and Jade used Infernal Prison at the same time."

I snickered. "Massive purple explosion, indeed. We should do that again."

"Better idea; let's do the elemental thing Jade, Seth, Reighn, and Sync did in my timeline... if we can, at least," Myre replied.

I hummed. "Elemental, huh?"

"Sync used a wind arte, Reighn used water—"

"Of course. When does Reighn _not_ use water?" Rialle asked.

"When he's using Sandstorm," I replied automatically. "Then I'll guess Jade was fire and Seth was earth."

"Yeah."

"I can do fire," I piped up. "If I can get rid of Phaïe's Song first."

"I can do earth!" Rialle said cheerfully. "Earth's kinda my specialty, like Reighn is with water."

"And I'm still left with wind," Sync noted. "But that means..."

"I've got Absolute. That ought to do the trick. It's got to be a high-level arte," Myre replied. "Jade used Meteor Storm, Seth... I think he used Earthquake. Something you might want to teach him, Rialle. I think that's how he learned it the first time... Anyway, I don't remember what my Sync used. Probably Thunder Blade, but I remember him complaining that it wasn't quite powerful enough and the other three damn near choked it out."

Sync hummed. "I think I've got something."

I had the feeling I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I grimaced. "Sync... Remember my rule about testing artes on the battlefield?"

"I've been practicing a _lot_ , Kairi. And I pulled Dark in on it last week. If I can't pull it now, I'm never going to."

I grimaced. "I don't like it, but... Alright. We've all got our artes, then. What else?"

Myre groaned. "You'll need your telepathy. Contact the soldiers, maybe some of the others. We have to make a circle. The arte will hit literally everything inside the circle, no matter how big. Best to do it while we've still got plenty of allies to cover us."

I noted that. "Any particular direction? Because it's starting to sound almost like an Energy Circle I know."

"That's where things get iffy. Any order, any direction will work, but they'd noticed that it was sometimes stronger if they were in a certain order, or if they were standing in certain directions."

I nodded. "I was right. A four-points circle. Myre, you'll be doing water, so you'll need to be north. I'll be south. Sync, west, and Rialle, east."

Myre blinked at me, turned, killed another monster, and then turned to blink at me again. "Um..."

"Four-points circles are elemental, in relation to the seasons. Each element is aligned to a season and a cardinal direction. Water is winter and north, and blah, blah, blah, I'll explain in full later if I have to," I said, having had to stop explaining to kill a monster while adding that last part on.

Sync snickered, Reapers' Tolled a rhinossus, and then grinned over his shoulder at me. "So, about getting into position..."

I grimaced and glanced up. Still early enough... "Rialle, east is that way. Grab Aslan and his platoon while you're at it. Shouldn't be an overwhelming number of monsters. Myre, if you're headed north, you'll have the hardest trip. That's straight through the battlefield..." I paused and reconsidered the span of the battle. "Wait, forget everything I've said."

I tapped Jade's mind telepathically, and he let the channel open with a familiar ease. *Now what?*

*Sync needs someone to cover him from our current position. The four of us want to try something, but Myre, Rialle and I need to cover some serious ground.*

Jade was silent for a moment. *If I've judged your current position correctly, you're fairly close to Aslan. Have him cover Sync, and the three of you head due north. Dark's group is there, as is Luke's.*

I nodded. *Noted.* I reached out for Aslan's mind, and relayed the orders to him, then returned the majority of my attention to my little squad, allowing Jade to slip a bit further into my mind so he could listen in. "Sync, you'll stay here. Aslan's squad is going to come here to cover you. Myre, Rialle, we're headed just north of here to catch Dark and Luke. I'll send Luke's group with you, Myre, and I'll let you know when to stop moving," I said. "Rialle, you and I are probably going to be the tricky ones."

"You're the one that's probably going to have to try to cross the battlefield alone, at this rate," Rialle muttered.

*Not if I have anything to say about it. Where do you need to be?* Jade asked. I sent along the best mental picture I could get of the battlefield, the points the four of us needed to be at included, and he seemed smug. *Rialle's going to be over there... I'll meet you there, and make sure you get to the southern point safely.*

I smiled a bit, even as I turned and slashed through the claws of an eggbear that had tried to sneak up on me. *Thanks, big brother.*

Jade just hummed back and pulled out, just in time for Aslan and his platoon—mixed Malkuthian and Kimlascan soldiers, amusingly enough—to join us.

"Alright, Myre, Rialle, let's go." I had a lock on Dark's mind, even if he and Luke were a bit further away than they had been originally, now.

We wasted little time heading for them, Silver Clematis and Phaïe's Song singing through the air and killing almost as many monsters as they had that first time outside St. Binah.

Gnome wasn't here this time. He'd just sent the monsters to do his work for him.

We finally reached Luke and Dark, and I quickly sent a basic outline of the plan to them via my telepathy. It was rather handy sometimes, I admitted.

Dark nodded and changed direction, calling out for his platoon—nothing _but_ Kimlascans, I noted—to follow. Myre slipped in among them, while Luke's mixed group of Kimlascans and Oracle Knights followed me and Rialle as we made our way over to the eastern point.

Jade was, as he'd promised, waiting on us when we got there, and I offered up a small smile even as I killed the eggbear that had been trying its best to tear him to shreds.

"Let's hope this idea of yours works," Jade muttered as we started moving again.

Being surrounded by blue uniforms was familiar, and it took a lot of control not to panic. Because part of my mind kept jumping back to the replica attack in Northern Chesedonia, where Ari had died...

And if I didn't get to the southern point on the circle, we'd probably all be dead here, too.

Willpower managed to get me through, and once I was sure all four of us were in position, I let the squad leaders of the men who'd have to cover us know that we needed time to cast and stuck Phaïe's Song in the ground.

*Æther?* Rialle asked.

*Æther,* Myre and I chorused in confirmation.

The minute the four of us started casting, I knew that Myre had been right, and couldn't help but smirk.

There were combo artes... and then there was this. Because that was an _Energy Circle_ around our feet.

*Rialle, yours needs to launch first,* I warned. *Clockwise, Myre will be last.*

*Noted,* the other three chorused.

Just as I'd said, Rialle's was the first to hit. "Oh heart of redemption... Gardenia!"

Wait, wasn't that one of her healing artes?

When it managed to envelope the entire circle, including the soldiers protecting the four of us, I realized what the problem with the rest of our artes would be.

None of them would be identifying friend or foe.

Rialle's Gardenia would get them all back on their feet once the massive attack was over.

And it was my turn...

"Roar, o conflagration, and command all impure souls to their ashen end... Ancient Nova!"

Fire enveloped the battlefield, and I heard Jade grunt. He'd been standing in front of me, so he'd been hit by the edges.

Sync's Dragon Tempest, a wind-elemental fonic arte he'd been working on since being freed from Gnome's control, was the next one unleashed. "Rage of the defiled, bring unto them the wrath of the skies... Dragon Tempest!"

I could still feel the arte building. The true combo arte, the one that would be unleashed the second the four of us were done casting.

"Rest in a merciless silver embrace," Myre finally chanted. "Absolute!"

Ice overtook the field, faded, and then I felt the surge of power, and unleashed the Æther I'd been building up.

Myre, Rialle, and Sync did the same, and the battlefield seemed to split into four.

"Feel Spring's revival in the very earth..."

"The strength of the Summer fires..."

"Autumn's raging wind storms..."

"The final rest of Winter's freeze."

"Seasons' Rage!"

The sheer amount of _power_ at our fingertips was almost overbearing, with the four of us so carefully connected to each other like this.

Once the arte was done laying waste to the battlefield, I stepped past Jade and the other soldiers who'd been in front of me and were knocked unconscious by the attack.

There were, at most, three dozen monsters left.

I summoned both swords back to my hands and raced forward, knowing that there were plenty of soldiers who'd been out in the middle of that.

Rialle's Gardenia meant they'd live, but for now, they were unconscious.

And, from the Revitalizes Tear was using and the Gardenias Rialle was casting, they wouldn't be staying that way long.

Still, we needed to kill the monsters before they could kill the helpless men and women out there.

Which explained a lot of why Sync, Myre and I were cleaning up the stragglers inside the circle we'd made while everyone else dealt with the stragglers _outside_.

By the time we'd finished fighting, Jade was back on his feet, and giving the four of us some very concerned looks.

All in all, thanks to unleashing Seasons' Rage on the battlefield, the Second Battle of St. Binah only lasted about eight hours from start to finish.

Jade grabbed me around sunset and dragged me off to the Soil Tree, and I wasn't really surprised to see the rest of the group that had come from Eldrant already there. I'd been a bit slow to get anything done...

"What the hell was that?" Luke blurted out.

Myre was grinning, and from the looks Sync kept shooting her, which I knew were usually shot at _me_ , I knew that that was the same grin I often wore when I caused mass chaos.

"That... was the strongest Seasons' Rage I have _ever_ seen," she replied, never quite losing the grin.

I snorted. "Well, let's see. We got everyone in the right order and direction, plus we all threw in Æther, so..."

Myre _cackled_.

...Now I knew why everyone was always so disturbed when _I_ did it.

"Uh... So... That was supposed to happen?" Dark muttered. "Because it hurt like _fuck_." He then proceeded to describe it a bit more colorfully in liger, and I had to join Myre in cackling.

"Well, that's what happens when you throw a four-points Energy circle at a problem. It blows up. Magnificently."

Sync shot me the same wary look he'd been shooting Myre for the last five minutes, and Jade was massaging his temples. "I hope Gnome's not planning to come back any time soon. I really don't want you four to do that again, most certainly not with me in range of getting _hit_ by it."

I snorted. "Sorry. But _someone_ had to cover our asses. And that's what Rialle's Gardenia was for."

Luke sighed. "So... what's a four-points Energy circle?"

I groaned and started explaining it. It was a basic enough Energy circle, after all, but having to explain it multiple times was a pain in the ass.

"So... theoretically, any four people could cast it, as long as four elemental artes were used?" Jade asked.

"Yes, theoretically," Myre replied. "Though, Seth always used Earthquake, not Gardenia. We did usually manage to evacuate the battlefield first, too. I thought I said something about that, but apparently not..."

I shrugged. "Also, if those four were trying to figure things out without my knowledge on Energy circles, I can imagine that the arte simply wasn't strong enough to actually kill a human. Maybe a severely weakened one, which after a few hours fighting, I suppose would apply to anyone, but still. Much weakened."

Rialle hummed. "I was going to use Earthquake, since that's what Myre said Seth used, but somehow Gardenia just felt... right."

"Good thing you went with the feeling," Luke muttered. "Jade, Dark, and I would be dead if you hadn't."

"Along with almost a hundred soldiers from Malkuth, Kimlasca, _and_ Daath," I noted. "So... Rialle either needs to teach someone else her Gardenia, or she _has_ to be there. You said Jade's Meteor Storm worked?"

Myre nodded. "Fairly well. Pretty sure that Flick once used a Kitsune, which is an arte she hasn't created yet, and that worked too, but... Ancient Nova really just kinda took the cake. So did that Dragon Tempest." Myre frowned. "Absolute didn't quite feel right, though..."

I shrugged. "Eh. Leave it to Reighn to figure out when he wakes up..." I paused, because was that...? "Which will be sometime in the next week or so."

"Wait, what?!" Everyone turned to me, and I grinned.

"Secondary Talent's starting to respond."

Soon, now...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay. Seasons' Rage. Any four people with the four main elemental affinities could pull this particular Combo Arte off, with strong enough fonic artes, as opposed to most Combo Artes which require two very specific artes and/or people casting. (Another exception would be Sunset Faith. As long as Solace casts Prism Gale, any fire-elemental arte will trigger it, as we saw in Part 62 with Dark dropping his Witches' Circles close enough to trigger, and back in Re:AST when Twilight helped it form when fighting Zion.)_

 _The main reason for this is due to the fact that it's a fonic glyph/Energy Circle hybrid. That said, there are a few people who can trigger much stronger versions. Kairi, for one thing. Kairi triggers the single most powerful fire level of the arte. And Rialle's healing arte is exactly what belongs there for earth._

 _So is Sync's Dragon Tempest. Myre's Absolute is out of place... but Reighn's Final Embrace really wouldn't be much better._

 _The actual arte that belongs there will remain a mystery for now._


	66. Chapter 9-2 Part 66

_Oh boy. So these next three chapters were originally_ two _chapters, but... yeah. I blame Shadow. He has learned far too much from Saphir. Or Saphir learned far too much from him. Either way, it explains a lot._

 _Also, a warning for the next three chapters. Most of it is in italics, but there are a few sections where there's a break of one or two lines that's_ not _italicized. These are the 'scene breaks' between Shadow's memories._

 _So yeah. Enjoy._

 _And yes. Multiple updates._

* * *

"Pryllena of Kazan... _Sit_. Rein in your temper." _–Orothur_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.2 – Melody of Memory  
Part 66**

We hadn't been back on Eldrant for more than two hours when Shadow stepped out of my shadow and fell into step with me.

"Meeting. Now. Everyone. In the garden at Yulia's grave."

And then he was gone.

I blinked at my shadow, but went ahead and reached out for everyone relevant with my telepathy. *So... Shadow is being more cryptic than usual. You all know where Yulia's grave is, right?* I asked once I had everyone.

*That hidden garden in the temple? Where we went through to the catacombs to get Dark's crystal?* Luke asked.

*That's the one.*

*Alright, on my way there, I guess...*

*Anyone need directions?* I asked. There were plenty of 'yes's, so after I'd given out basic directions I took off walking that way myself.

Shadow was waiting for us, sitting cross-legged in front of Yulia's grave. Luke, Myre, and I were the first three, and the others filtered in quickly. Somehow I wasn't too surprised that Saphir joined us.

"So, to what do we owe this dubious pleasure?" Jade asked, pointedly ignoring the way Sync was, again, eyeing Saphir.

Shadow's eyes snapped open and he looked up at me. "I think I heard Natalia say something once about a method of sharing memories."

I blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I think you all need to see this. I've..." Shadow sighed. "I'm sorry I haven't been a lot of help. Lorelei may be the best with this sort of thing, followed closely by Kade, but... _all_ of the sentiences are capable of time-travel, so long as there are enough fonons where we're going. So, I've been wandering around during the time period when Gnome lost it, hoping to find us something we could use to end this before it gets any worse, and... I think I found something important," he said. "Multiple somethings, maybe. I feel like I've got a lot of puzzle pieces, but..."

I shrugged. "Well. I'm fairly good with puzzles. So is Jade."

Shadow nodded. "I know. Anyway, this will probably take a while. There were a lot of different things I managed to see... I kinda repeated the same decade over and over again, trying to figure out what happened in _every_ place I could," he said. "So... It's going to be disjointed, but it's the best I can give you."

I sat down right in front of him and closed my eyes. "You're all going to want to get comfortable... and someone should probably set some guards at the entrance."

"I'll go do that real quick," Sync said, practically running out after shooting Saphir another look. The man snorted, settled in near Shadow, and I started pulling in the massive amount of Energies I'd need.

"Do you want some help with that?" Asch asked.

I bit my lip. "Yes, probably a good idea. And actually..."

I opened my eyes, gave up on holding all of the Energies in place, and pulled out my chalks, drawing first a simple earth-elemental Energy circle, and then the slightly more complex one around it for the moon Energies.

Then I stood and started making a rather large circle around the group as a whole, placing eight more of the individual circles. "Don't mess these up, please. If this takes more than about an hour, I'll be needing these. Desperately."

Shadow hummed. "How long does it usually take for about three days' worth of memories?"

I shrugged. "Depends. Our minds are all a little different. Natalia sharing a twenty-minute memory with me took the whole twenty minutes. I managed to share most of my travels with Asch and Sync with her over three hours. Okay, spaced out due to breaks every time the dome started to destabilize, but still. I don't know how long it'll take for us to watch your memories, because it could take the same amount of time that passed originally, or it could take a fraction of the time." I sat down again and went back to pulling in the Energies I needed, shooting Asch a grateful look when I realized he'd managed to catch most of the Energies I'd gathered before and was actually pulling more in as I worked.

"So... Any warnings?" Jade asked as Sync returned.

I nodded. "Yeah. Actually, a rather major one, given that chances are, Shadow won't have a human body in these memories. When we're viewing the memories, _we_ see them like he did. So..."

"It's a bit of an out-of-body experience if you spot yourself in one of the memories," Natalia piped up. "And..." She shot me an embarrassed look, and I snorted.

"It can get a bit strange. It's like... Asch trying to make logic out of the fact that he was technically stuck in a girl's body at Aramis Spring. Which he was. The point is, when we come back out of the memory, don't be panicking if your body doesn't feel right. It _won't_ , because for the last however many minutes, as far as your mind is concerned, it wasn't in _that_ body. It fades pretty quickly, but it's a strange feeling, regardless."

Shadow hummed. "You're all probably going to have a bit of a case of light sensitivity as well, then. Given my eyesight in my base form, that is."

I nodded, double-checked my Energy levels, and shoved the majority of the Energies into the two circles right in front of me. "Alright. I'm ready. Are you?"

Shadow nodded, and I slipped onto the second plane completely, holding my hands at his temples and allowing the connection to form.

Within seconds, everyone under the dome, which encompassed most of the room, was immersed in the first memory.

 _Light. It was blinding, but I wasn't going to let it bother me. I couldn't. I was a sentience on a mission..._

 _Gnome. It was him, though the form was human, and I slipped through the shadows toward him._

 _He paused in the middle of the street, then ducked down an alley, and I hummed to myself. He'd felt me following, felt me coming after him._

 _I pulled myself free of the shadows, managing to form even in this accursed light, and Gnome looked at me with that familiar stubborn glint in his eyes._

" _I'm not going to leave."_

 _I didn't immediately answer. That... wasn't what I was expecting._

" _Vhy did you come here, Shadow?"_

 _I shifted back and forth, contemplating not answering in an attempt to irritate him. Ifrit was right about one thing—setting people off was quite fun to watch._

 _Still... "You would live among the humans willingly?"_

 _Gnome was silent for a few minutes, and then he huffed. "I've been doing it for centuries now. I vill form up a body and live out my life, then start over again in a new city."_

 _Interesting. "Why?"_

 _Gnome shrugged. "They are fascinating to vatch. So fragile, so very short-lived... but fascinating."_

 _I was rather amused by this._

 _So, Gnome had finally come to be accepting of the humans as well. So all that was left was Rem._

 _I faded back into the shadows, effectively disappearing, but hadn't quite left in time to miss the utterly baffled expression my little brother was wearing._

 _Yes, Ifrit was quite right. Confusing people was very amusing._

And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the memory was gone, and Shadow was silently prodding me.

I smirked slightly. *Barely a minute. Good... You do the same thing I do. Let's go.*

No one really got a chance to react to that before Shadow had plunged us all into the next memory.

 _The shadows here were numerous, and the fonons either a part of him, or the eldest of his younger siblings._

 _He could move through this area with ease, and even when the light finally registered, when the voices came to him on Sylph's fonons, when he recognized the light as being born of Ifrit's fires, he was still comfortable here, and at home._

 _He stayed in the shadows, doing his best to make out the humans scattered around the fire here in this cavern. He knew they were not so foolish as to light the thing and give the smoke no path out. He could feel the winding, thin tunnel that rose out through the rocks, the shadows that filled it, that rippled with the passing of the smoke._

" _So, Masaru. You called us here for a reason."_

 _The man who'd been addressed stood up, and I saw enough. The man wore a military uniform, not quite the same as that Gnome had worn last I'd seen, but close enough to have to be a part of the same military._

" _I believe... Aiko. You said... you had_ met _Sylph, the last time we were here?"_

 _Another man nodded. "Yes. What of it?"_

 _Masaru didn't answer immediately. "There's a man, that I have called my friend for the last few years... His name is Gaius Stone... And I believe he may actually be the aggregate sentience of the second fonon."_

 _The silence was almost palpable, and I stayed right where I was._

 _Gaius... an interesting and fitting name for my brother to choose as a cover..._

" _What of it?" a woman asked, standing up. Her hair, her eyes, her clothing, all bore the same colors as the fire in front of her, and I had no doubt that this woman was from very near Ifrit's volcano. "Ifrit has walked among my people for generations."_

" _And he warns you when the mountain rages, when the burning stones rain from her peak and the ash chokes everything in the area," Masaru shot back. "Gnome is_ angry _, Pryllena. Angry enough to level the entire city of New Ebenthan!"_

" _Enough."_

 _The man who stood next had blue hair, and stepped up enough to hold his arms out, obviously diffusing the argument about to start. "Masaru of Barakaru, your concerns have been heard. Pryllena of Kazan..._ Sit. _Rein in your temper."_

 _The woman did so, still scowling at everything in range, which was the entire group, even as the man who had stepped up, who looked so very different from her, turned to Masaru again. "We would know if he had leveled the city already, and thus he has not. Why do you speak as such?"_

 _Masaru grimaced. "Because I asked him to try one last time to take the insult he's been given as diplomatically as possible, and ask for reparations. But... I fear Princess Anastasia will not be so kind. A beautiful woman on the outside... but she is of Archibald's get, and we've already seen where the rest of them ended up. She is no better. And if anyone knows for certain of Gaius' true identity... it will be her. She doesn't see the dangerous game she's playing... And I don't want to be at her side when the results blow up on her."_

 _The man who had broken up the near-fight between Masaru and Pryllena hummed, looking thoughtful. Another man was looking around, and the standing one seemed to notice. "Have you something to say, Kenji of Garudiosu?"_

" _I... I found something a few weeks ago when I was going through some of the intact records we found in the Ruins of Werites," the man responded. "I believe, if used correctly... the technique detailed in the texts would allow us to seal the sentiences away, but..." Kenji stopped and shook his head. "As Aiko, Pryllena, and Masaru have shown, we work with them every day, use the fonons to do fantastic things... If we do this, we risk losing their trust forever, and with that..."_

 _Masaru grimaced. "Leave that for a last resort. Gaius has nothing against humanity in general. It's_ Anastasia _he's pissed at. I'm just worried about the collateral damage."_

 _There was silence in the cavern for a long few minutes._

" _He would be foolish to attack the leader of Kaminari."_

 _I resisted the urge to join in the conversation, because really..._

" _And why do you say such, Nemari of Seshire?" the apparent spokesperson said._

" _Anastasia is young yet. It was likely a silly mistake of youth that has angered him, and after the assassination of King Archibald, there is no doubt that Kaminari cannot afford to lose the last in his direct line. The chaos—"_

" _It was no foolhardy mistake, Nemari," Masaru cut in. "I've spoken to Anastasia as well as Gaius. Anastasia_ deliberately _treated him just as her father treated the Lady Minami."_

 _Silence once again reigned, and I could not help but wish that I had paid more attention to human politics. None of these names meant anything to me._

" _If that is true... Then..." The man who'd started speaking stood, and I noted gold eyes. That was strange, for humans, but his black hair fell in his face, and he was_ young _. Younger than most of the men and women in this circle. "I am willing to offer my Clan's services once again. Kaminari will be hurt by Princess Anastasia's loss... but she cannot be allowed to twist the country as her father was doing."_

 _I wondered idly why humans always had to kill each other. For the conversation to take this sort of a turn..._

" _That shouldn't be necessary... Should it?" Kenji asked._

 _Masaru sighed as most of the other Clan Heads turned to him. "I don't know. I don't want it to be necessary, because that would mean utter chaos for my Clan and my country." The man stopped, swallowed, and shook his head. "But I can't follow Anastasia. Not after this. Gaius..._ Gnome _is angry, and has every right to be."_

 _The spokesman sighed. "Let us do some more research before we decide on the Princess's fate."_

" _And if we are too late to act?" the man who'd volunteered his Clan's 'services' asked._

 _This seemed to give the spokesman pause, and he turned to Masaru. "How long do we have until Gnome takes things into his own hands?"_

" _I don't know. I've tried to get him to calm down, at least enough to take this from a political angle and not use a show of force, but..." Masaru shook his head. "I don't know." The man paused, glancing at the one with the gold eyes. Then he took a deep breath. "Kurai brought up a good point. I... He has offered his Clan's services. If the other Clans of Kaminari are agreeable, I would accept."_

 _There was silence for a long moment, before the blue-haired man spoke. "Nemari of Seshire, Zuko of Hidon. What say you?"_

 _I didn't have to look at Nemari to know that her mind was made up already._

" _I accept."_

 _The man who must have been Zuko nodded._

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay, I actually had two for this chapter. One was in regards to Pryllena, the other had to do with New Ebenthan, Kenji, and the Ruins of Werites. I'll save the first one for later and start with the second._

 _So. When I was originally writing this chapter, I was in the middle of a word war (timed writing challenge) and couldn't think up names. This is why the City of New Ebenthan was originally listed in the document as the City of [Creative Name]. Poor Kenji was even worse, as I'd forgotten the romanization of the Japanese version of Gardios and didn't have a name for the Garudiosu Clan Head of the time. So Kenji of Garudiosu was, when I first wrote it, [Blah] of [BlahGardios]. Which made the Ruins of [Blah] all the more hilarious, as I tried to figure out if the ruins were named after [Blah] of [BlahGardios], or if [Blah] of [BlahGardios] got his name from the Ruins of [Blah]._

 _So yeah. Placeholder fun. More of it in the next chap..._


	67. Chapter 9-3 Part 67

_And here's another one. And this is the last late update I owe you guys.  
_

 _..._

 _Yes, you read that right. I'm caught up._

 _68 and 69 are fully prepped for posting. 68 will go up Friday, 69 will go up Saturday as a 'Camp NaNo Starts' gift for you guys._

 _Enjoy, and I'll see everyone again on Friday!_

* * *

Oh, goodness, that dragonet. It kinda reminded me of Kairi... _–Shadow_

"What, is it illegal for a man to explore the world?" _–Shadow_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.3 – Melody of Memory  
Part 67**

 _I had to get to Gnome. Quickly._

 _I could feel the shaking earth, could feel his rage as the ground below New Ebenthan started to crack, the light burning away shadows it should never have even touched._

" _Gnome..." I tore myself out of one of these crevices, just in time to spot my brother, still in his human form, stalking down the street. "Gnome!"_

 _The man stopped. "Don't try to stop me, Shadow."_

" _The Clans are dealing with her. Let it go!"_

 _Gnome turned to me and snarled. "Dealing with her? They_ created _her, Shadow! Created her, created Archibald!"_

" _Archibald was assassinated by a Darigan!"_

 _Gnome hissed. "And_ that _was the final straw for Anastasia. She_ changed _when her father died, Shadow. She_ changed _. And now she's thrown me away like a piece of trash. She loved before. Not just me! Her people will suffer for this as well."_

 _I moved forward, even as Gnome started walking again. "They're human. They're_ young _, Gnome. They don't understand like we do."_

" _They age faster than we did, Shadow."_

" _Gnome, please! The Clans—"_

" _I don't care what they're planning."_

" _Your actions are going to have consequences for_ all _of us, Gnome!"_

 _Gnome shot me a glare. "Let them come. I'll clear the slate."_

 _I realized what he meant to do quite suddenly._

" _No... Gnome, you can't!"_

" _Can't I? Humans rely upon the earth. I_ am _the earth! They have learned, oh yes. They've learned too well. To harm, to hate, to destroy!"_

" _They can be taught! They can be made to see!"_

 _Gnome's pace didn't slow, and I could see,_ feel _the fissures widening, the earth tearing itself apart. "Gnome,_ please _."_

" _Rem."_

 _Light. Blinding light, searing, painful, and I retreated._

" _Kill them, Gnome," I heard Rem say, her childish voice filled with so very much hate._

 _I curled into the darkest shadows I could find, deep within the earth below New Ebenthan. "It's not just the humans who have learned to hate and destroy..."_

 _There was nothing I could do. Not at this point._

 _Because I could feel the damage Gnome was doing._

 _By the end of the day, New Ebenthan would be destroyed, completely and utterly... and I had little to no hope on the number of people who would survive._

There was another short pause, and Shadow sent out a mental warning. *That was my last memory before being sealed, that wasn't me managing to exist in multiple places at once. I'm going to save the sealing for last...*

And then we plunged into the next memory.

 _I stepped out of the shadows and glanced down, pleased that my replica body had managed to survive the trip._ "Thank you, Kade."

"Any time. But be careful not to run into yourself. Myre and Selenia co-exist due to a schism in the timeline. This timeline has yet to split, and direct contact _will_ eliminate you."

"Noted."

 _I stepped through the next shadow, headed for the Tataroo Valley Archives._

 _Except... it wasn't called Tataroo Valley in this time, was it? No, it was currently Teslar Valley._

 _The Archives were... smaller._

 _I brushed it off. Of course they were smaller. This wasn't the present, this was three thousand years in the past, and I knew quite well that they would grow, especially during the next thousand years._

 _I headed for the back corner, that section that had been caved in, in which Myre was_ certain _the sealing technique had been hidden away in._

 _Except..._

 _This section was still mostly empty. Still-to-be-filled. And recently dug out._

 _So, that hadn't been added until later..._

 _I perused my memories, then remembered what Kenji Garudiosu had mentioned at the last Meeting of the Clan Heads before they'd sealed us away._

 _The Ruins of Werites. That was where he had found the information._

 _I vaguely remembered that those could be found in southern Rugnica—what would come to be called Rugnica, at least—and slipped through the shadows, coming out in the mountains that cut through a large part of the eastern edge of the continent._

 _I wasn't quite sure where to start. I'd come back far enough to have arrived well before Gaius and Anastasia had ever even met, which meant that Kenji hadn't found the scrolls yet..._

 _Sylph flew by overhead, chasing after a young dragon, and I smiled._

 _Her form was familiar, so very familiar, and I suddenly regretted that I hadn't taken a human—or humanoid, at least—form sooner._

 _I took off after the two of them, sliding into the shadows cast by the dragonet and my sister, and let them lead me wherever it was we were headed, if we were headed anywhere in particular._

 _We ended up at a small village on a mountaintop, the dragonet panting, but trying to preen in the same space of time, with Sylph giggling and trying to hold it in her lap._

 _To the dragonet's credit, it dwarfed my sister in her human-child-sized form._

 _I slipped out of their now-combined shadow, and they both jumped up, startled by my appearance. I chuckled and knelt, smoothing over the slightly-fluffed scales around the dragonet's neck. "Hello there, little one."_

 _Sylph stared at me for a long time, even after the dragonet decided it would rather occupy my lap than hers._

" _...Shadow?"_

 _I smiled, nodded, and continued petting the tiny dragon in my lap._

 _...I'd have to find some way to get these to survive a bit better. Ifrit had been complaining that there were, perhaps, three dragons left._

" _I'm sorry, little one, but I need to stand again," I said, trying to get my arms under the dragonet to lift it._

 _*Aw... But you're nice. And kinda... I dunno. You feel like a dark cave.*_

 _I snorted. Well, at least now I knew the dragonet was a male. "Of course, little one. But I really do need to get up, and I'm not quite mean enough to simply dump you on the ground by vanishing out from under you."_

 _The dragonet looked up at me with bright blue eyes, blinked once, then reluctantly crawled out of my lap and found a rock to sun himself on._

 _Sylph giggled. "So, Gnome got ahold of you too, huh?"_

 _I hummed. "Something like that," I lied. "Sylph... I'm honestly a bit lost."_

 _She blinked a few times, then busted up laughing. "Okay! Where you need to go?"_

" _The Ruins of Werites. I... I know they're around here somewhere, or at least I'm fairly sure they are, but..."_

" _Oh, oh, I know where that is! That cute guy from Garudiosu is always around there!" She paused. "I never actually go in there though. It's underground. I don't like underground. Not enough air."_

 _I hummed. "Lead the way."_

 _Sylph blinked at me. "How are you going to follow?"_

" _I'll just get a ride in your shadow. Like I did on the way here."_

 _*That's cheating. I won, fair and square.*_

" _I know. I was in_ Sylph's _shadow, not yours."_

 _*Good.*_

 _Oh, goodness, that dragonet._

 _It kinda reminded me of Kairi..._

" _Ready?" Sylph chirped._

 _I nodded. "Yes."_

There was another pause as the world faded to black, and then color returned.

 _I stepped into the Ruins of Werites and started looking around again. This wasn't my first time here, because much to my annoyance, it seemed that there_ were _actually people here. Unexpected people, I should say._

 _This area might one day become the mining city of Akzeriuth, but for now, it was an ancient, underground ruin that was somewhat inhabited. Or at least, the lake in the center was inhabited._

 _I was wandering through the had-been streets when I nearly got bowled over._

" _Whoa! Oh my gosh, I am_ so _sorry!"_

 _I got back to me feet and looked at the man who'd run me over._

 _Kenji._

 _With one of the apparent natives on his heels._

 _A native with a bit of a resemblance to Kenji, and even more of a resemblance to someone I knew from the present._

" _...Guy...?"_

 _The two of them gave me confused looks, and I shook my head. "Sorry. Mistook you for someone else," I said quickly, taking another look._

 _The man was a dead ringer for the Gardios Head of the future, but I'd never seen Guy wear anything like this man's outfit._

" _Sorry for running into you like that. Hadn't realized there was someone there," Kenji said. "Um... Where'd you come from, anyway? I thought only the Ferines and a few researchers were here? And, ah... You don't look like any of the men I brought with me."_

 _I sighed. "What, is it illegal for a man to explore the world? I was just curious."_

 _The Guy look-alike chuckled. "Give him a break, Kenji. He's not the first person to come through here just to look around."_

 _Damn._ Sounded _just like Guy, too..._

" _So... I'm Kage. You two?"_

 _Kenji gave him an odd look for a moment, but the Guy-look-alike seemed happy enough to answer. "Lars. This is Kenji."_

 _Who now looked mildly exasperated. "I can introduce myself, Lars."_

 _Lars just gave him a smile, and I tilted my head to the side. "Are you two brothers?"_

 _There was a silence as they stared at me, and I shrugged. "What? There's a bit of a resemblance... but that might just be me."_

" _Lars is one of the Ferines," Kenji replied. "I'm not. Completely human, or... ah, what's the word you used the other week?"_

" _Orerines."_

 _Kenji nodded. "Yeah. That. People of the earth, as opposed to his people of the water."_

 _I smiled a bit, wondering idly if Undine knew about this. "Well. If you two don't mind, I was planning to head over there to look around," I said, gesturing to what had been my original destination._

 _Lars gave me the exact same smile I'd once gotten from Guy after asking if he minded helping me with a task on Eldrant that Saphir had requested I do. "If you need help finding your way around, the Ferines village is in the lake, and I'm usually somewhere on the west shore. I'd be happy to show you around."_

 _I smiled and nodded._

There was a bit of a pause here, mostly due to my own personal shock.

Ferines were from Tales of Legendia, after all, not Abyss... still...

I handed control back over to Shadow, who easily pulled us into the next memory.

 _I was still hovering in the shadows, observing._

 _The woman had blonde hair, long blonde hair that fell down her back in waves, and a bright red dress._

 _She was rather pretty, I admitted to myself._

 _But... I knew that ice-cold edge to her eyes. That ever-so-slight tug to her lips. The relaxed appearance of her stance._

 _This woman was a deceiver of the highest caliber, and..._

 _The door opened, and my brother rushed in._

 _I wanted to step out of the shadows, warn him, stop Anastasia,_ something _, but doing so would more than likely erase the entire future, and..._

 _And while things were bad... I had hope that they would get better. Besides, splitting the timeline from here could have disastrous consequences._

" _Ana! Ana, please, tell me it's not true!"_

 _Anastasia blinked at him. "What's not true?"_

 _Gnome swallowed. "I know Duke Zalan vas planning to propose... Some of the guards... I didn't think he vould move so quickly, but... Please... if he did..."_

" _I accepted."_

 _Gnome recoiled as if he'd been punched. "No... No, Ana..."_

 _The woman turned up her nose at him, as I'd seen her do to the servant who'd only just left when my brother had arrived. "Really, Gaius. Did you truly believe I would entrust my father's throne to a common soldier?" She turned away and stepped over to the window with a kind of grace that hid no doubt in her course. "You are_ dismissed _, Captain."_

 _I didn't miss_ that _, either._

 _Captain._

 _Gnome's uniform was that of a brigadier general, and he'd been a major already when they'd met._

 _If she'd killed his rank any further, she'd have practically kicked him straight out of the military altogether._

 _Gnome finally started to move, back-stepping slowly, that gob-smacked and heartbroken expression tearing at me._

 _Information. That was all I could do, all I could allow myself to do._

 _Interfering from this far back would tear Auldrant apart as the timeline tried to correct itself. Bad enough that it was still trying to figure out what to make of Myre._

 _Gnome_ ran _, and I resisted the urge to follow._

 _This would happen. I couldn't stop it..._

 _But I could give Kairi and the others the tools to keep it from happening again. Still, I had to wonder..._

 _A man walked in after Gnome was gone, the man I knew to be Duke Zalan. He was smirking, looking far too pleased. "Well done, my dear."_

 _Anastasia turned and smiled at him. "Thank you. And you're certain that meddling Clan fool Masaru won't get in the way?"_

 _Zalan nodded._

" _Good. Go, I've told the Council you will be attending the meeting today in my place."_

 _Zalan bowed. "As my lady wishes."_

 _The man, who reminded me quite strongly of a snake, left, and I noted that Anastasia's eyes didn't leave the door for the longest time._

 _I'd been hoping for it, if I were being honest, but the moment her expression shifted, from haughty and pleased with herself to that pained and guilty countenance, I knew that my suspicions had been confirmed._

 _Anastasia wasn't at fault. As excellent an actress as her father had been, yes... but an innocent, who truly_ had _loved my little brother._

 _I slid out of the shadows, giving the woman a chance to panic before attempting to speak._

 _Anastasia's eyes went wide, and she backed into the wall, but she didn't make a sound, simply choosing to stare for a long while._

 _I glanced at the door. No moving shadows, aside from the semi-predictable dance from the lamps. "Anastasia..."_

" _You... You're Shadow, aren't you?"_

 _I glanced at her and nodded._

" _Gaius... Gnome... He said you avoided cities..."_

 _My heart broke again for my brother._

 _Anastasia had known_ exactly _what Gaius was._

" _I don't have much time." Already I could feel Kade starting to grab hold of me. I was stepping dangerously close to doing something that would alter the timeline._

 _Anastasia's hand rose to her neck as she practically threw herself at me._

 _The object she shoved in my hands was warm, and round, and felt of Gnome. "Get this to him, please!" Wide brown eyes looked up at me. "Please! He gave it to me, I never wanted to hurt him, tell him that, please! I can't or—" She cut off and pulled back, shaking her head. "Please."_

 _Kade was pulling, now. "I will. I promise."_

 _It won't be enough to save her, but maybe... maybe it would help Gnome to find some peace again._

 _Kade_ yanked _on me, and I stepped back into the shadows somewhat less than voluntarily, wrapping myself in them as everything faded._

 _When I stepped out again, Saphir greeted me._

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Remember where I said there was more placeholder fun in this chap? Yeah, right up top, first time it shows up, New Ebenthan got written as New [Fraggit] because I forgot the 'Ebenthan' part. Here's a little funny born of New Fraggit that one of my Skype buddies came up with when I complained about it:_

 _"Ah yes, New Fraggit. I have fond memories of that place by the sea, where I spent my childhood fishing upon the waves. I'd always hear the old mayor walk by, shouting to himself about how people shouldn't have taken his drunken ramblings so seriously." –Brian_

 _(More of Brian's shenanigans to come, by the way...)_


	68. Chapter 9-4 Part 68

_Ha! Bet ya'll weren't expecting_ that _plot twist!_

 _..._

 _...To be honest, neither was I. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have no control over my characters. So yeah. More on Anastasia and Gaius/Gnome later. Probably sometime in October._

 _Also, I'm pretty sure Mohs is descended from Zalan. Pure conjecture on my part, but it seems Zalan escaped New Ebenthan's destruction, so... Yeah. I'll shut up now. On that subject, at least._

 _As a warning, I'm not entirely certain if Ydaer is male or female. I'm fairly sure Ydaer is male, and wrote as such when I added a bit to a line when Ydaer, Nemari, and Kurai get to the cavern, but I may have put Ydaer as female somewhere..._

 _Either way, I'm fairly certain Ydaer is male, so if I miss-labeled him somewhere, please let me know._

 _So anyway, on a totally different note, I'm a bit jealous of one of my cabinmates. She's in Australia, so Camp starts for her in 3 hours. Hoping I can manage a 100k month for March, though, so I need to post this and get to writing. 8.5k to go. -salutes and runs off-_

* * *

 _Shadow pulled away finally, and if I hadn't already been seated, I'd have fallen on my ass. As it was, Jade promptly fell over sideways. –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.4 – Melody of Memory  
Part 68**

The collective was a mass of different emotions right now, but I could tell from Shadow that we still had one memory left.

It took me a few moments to remind the others of this, and then, for what would be the last time today, we all fell into Shadow's memory.

 _I hovered in the cavern. The very cavern where Kenji had told the others that he'd found the sealing technique. Where Masaru had tried to warn them._

 _But they were too late to act._

 _The entire city of New Ebenthan had been destroyed, and I'd seen Gnome send Rem to distract Ifrit._

 _The mountain was Ifrit's home. Pryllena's Clan had lived there for centuries, and though they'd been in the process of moving... well. It took time to move an entire village. And Ifrit knew his mountain. He'd given them a timeline._

 _A timeline that Gnome had disrupted._

 _The Kazan Clan was destroyed. As was most of Barakaru, as Masaru hadn't been able to get his large Clan out of the crossfire of New Ebenthan in time._

 _I was waiting._

 _Sooner or later, the remaining Clan leaders would return here. Gnome, Rem, and an oddly enraged Undine had already killed near half of the Clans completely._

 _They would retreat eventually._

 _And Ifrit... I could feel his loss on the world already. The loss of the sentience of fire, a sentience now sealed within a crystal monolith of blue._

 _A sentience_ willingly _sealed._

 _I stayed there, mourning for Ifrit's loss, but understanding his decision._

 _The humans around his mountain... they were, in his mind,_ his _to protect, to watch over, to teach..._

 _And Gnome had used his element against him to_ slaughter _them._

 _My siblings had turned against each other, and it ached._

 _A man stumbled into the room, injured, but still moving. Blonde hair, I noted._

 _The man sat against a wall, and recognition reached me._

 _Kenji, of Garudiosu._

 _Footsteps echoed through the stone, even as a weary but very familiar countenance stepped in, a torch in hand and a tied bundle of firewood in the other. "You're going to hurt yourself more doing that, Kenji," Masaru said, sounding just as exhausted as he looked._

 _Kenji looked up at him. "They killed them, Mas... I got there too late to warn Lars."_

 _I shifted a little bit, but neither man noticed me yet. Humph. They would when Masaru lit the fire._

" _The Ferines?" Masaru asked._

 _Kenji grimaced. "That was the last of their villages, Mas. They're gone. Undine's people are_ gone _."_

 _Masaru was silent for a while, before he turned and stepped over, dropping the bundle of wood and lighting it._

 _I didn't care for light, but..._

" _Gyah!"_

 _I stood as still as my form would allow me as Masaru yelped and scrambled backwards._

 _Kenji looked up from the wounds he was wrapping, and he seemed to slump slightly. "Shadow..."_

 _I was silent as the shifting shadows I'd felt before finally raced into the cavern, two men and a woman, and still I didn't move._

 _Masaru stood up slowly._

 _Nemari, the Seshire Clan head, watched me for a long moment._

" _Are you here for the same reason Ifrit sought us out?" she finally asked._

" _Nemari!"_

" _What?"_

 _The man who'd spoken, the Fende Head, looked exasperated. "Nevermind. Where are Orothur and Endyr?"_

 _Masaru stood. "On their way, and with company... I hope."_

 _I looked over the Clan Heads, remembering these people from the last meeting and putting names to faces once again._

 _Masaru of Barakaru._

 _Nemari of Seshire._

 _Kurai of Darigan._

 _Ydaer of Fende._

 _Kenji of Garudiosu._

 _And, last I'd been aware, there were only two others left. Orothur of Aureriun, who had acted as spokesman last meeting, and Endyr of Eruzaeyon._

 _I needed to wait for those two to arrive. They were not so far behind their companions..._

 _There were places on the floor, where each Clan Head usually sat, and I finally moved, taking up a space where the Disuda Clan Head should have been seated._

 _That man was dead. A great shame, as I had considered him a good friend._

 _There was a bit of silence, and the five Clan Heads who had already arrived took their seats. And waited along with me..._

 _Until Orothur and Endyr walked in, both with grim expressions, and both of whom froze the moment they noticed me._

 _Orothur was the first to realize that I meant them no harm, and he sighed and walked over to his usual space, not looking at all like he wanted to be here._

 _Endyr moved far more warily, then finally seated himself as well._

" _I wish the circumstances of this meeting were better," Orothur began. "But there is nothing we can do at this point, save for limit the damage as best we can." He paused to look at me, and I shifted back and forth, wondering idly if he'd translate my action correctly. He sighed. "There are so few of us here. I see no reason for us to hold to the usual rules."_

 _In other words: open forum._

" _I've felt Ifrit's sealing," I began. I paused, uncertain of what I was about to say. "Gnome's rage is as stubborn as he is. I do not like it... but I believe I can help you corner him."_

 _There was silence for a while, before Kenji sighed. "We're not going have a choice but to seal all six of you. Fifth fonons aren't my specialty, but even_ I _can feel their drop. If we don't seal_ all _of the sentiences, there will be an imbalance, and... I don't think I want to see the results."_

 _I continued to shift back and forth, simply... fidgeting, for lack of a better word. "Start with Rem. Then Undine. Then Sylph."_

" _Reverse order, except Ifrit's already sealed," Endyr noted._

" _Rem is one of the largest threats of the three of my siblings who wish you humans ill," Shadow replied. "You know to stay away from water, and Gnome still mourns in the ruins of New Ebenthan."_

" _And how the hell do we catch the second-hardest sentience to find?" Endyr grumbled. "It's not like Rem is_ fond _of humans."_

" _I can help with that, as well. And at any time."_

 _They looked up at me in mild surprise, and I waved back and forth, like a puppy I had seen once, tilting its head one way, then the other, and back and forth until it was dizzy._

 _...And on that note..._

 _I stopped, getting a bit dizzy myself._

 _Masaru sighed. "Who's got Havaam's contract?" he asked._

 _There was a pause, and then the assassin, Kurai Darigan, stood up. "I do."_

" _And Yda?"_

 _Another stood, this time Ydaer of Fende. "Here."_

 _Orothur looked around, eyes catching on Kenji. "Are you going to be okay to do this?" he asked._

 _Kenji nodded, took a deep breath, stood, and managed to stay steady on his feet._

 _I shifted, moving more to the center of the circle._

 _The seven Clan Heads retreated, Endyr back to the entrance tunnel, and the other six oddly uneven spaces around the edges of the center cavern._

 _I stood there and pulled against that odd half-connection between myself and Rem, my sister, my opposite, allowing my shadows to rise and pull around the men, hiding them from view..._

 _Rem appeared in a human form, white dress standing out in the darkness even as she_ glowed _. "What do you_ want _, Shadow?!"_

 _And then she froze, and frowned at the fire in the center of the cave._

 _Then her eyes went wide._

 _It was too late, however, as even_ I _could feel the fonons moving around us, light and dark and—_

 _Wait._

" _Gnome—!"_

" _We'll handle him, Shadow. I'm sorry... We really don't have time to waste," Masaru said._

" _Kenji was right. The imbalance must be corrected as soon as possible," Orothur added._

 _Rem snarled, laughed, and just generally made herself look and sound crazed. "You tried to help them imprison us! And look what you've gotten for it! Foolish brother!"_

 _I didn't respond, because I could feel the light wrapping around me, pulling at me._

'Where do you call home, Elder Brother?' _a soft voice asked._

 _I thought of the place, and then I was left in the darkness._

 _This darkness faded slowly, until I was left surrounded by nothing but light._

 _This light blinded me, left me helpless, not that I could have moved if I'd wanted to._

 _So... this was the fate Ifrit had subjected himself to, the fate I'd trapped myself and Rem in. Suffocation by our opposite element._

 _It was... effective._

'I'm sorry, Elder Brother. I wish it did not have to be so,' _the voice spoke to me again. I hummed._

' _What is your name?' I asked silently._

'I am Yda, a summon spirit of light.'

 _Then Havaam had been a spirit of darkness._

 _I relaxed into the light as best I could, utterly surrounded by something that rendered me useless. I would be like this for a very long time, I feared._

 _And as best I could tell... I was._

 _My sense of time slowly warped, what must have been days and years passing in what felt like seconds. With nothing to break up the monotony, nothing to relieve the pain of being blinded constantly, of practically_ burning _... I felt that I was simply sleeping for centuries at a time._

 _And then... a change._

 _Uh... hello?_

 _I shifted, as much as Yda would let me shift. 'Hello... little one.'_

 _I could..._ feel _him. He was young, so very young, and yet..._

 _One of_ us _._

 _Are... are you Shadow?_

 _I hummed to myself, pleased with this change in the world. 'I am. And what do you call yourself, little one?'_

 _Ah... Lorelei. I'm Lorelei._

 _And then, harsh as a knife, the connection was gone._

 _Yda whimpered a bit in pain, and I realized that she was as much a prisoner as I._

' _I worry for the Clans,' I mused. 'If Gnome frees himself...'_

'He will not. He _cannot_ ,' _Yda replied._ 'That seal was quite well made.'

 _I 'relaxed' again, and felt the time continue to fly past, though I noted Lorelei making regular visits... until they simply stopped._

 _And I feared. For if I was correct, and he was as my siblings and I were, if he_ was _my sibling... That meant he had been sealed away as well._

 _With no opposite to seal him with, I wondered if he'd been sealed at all, or if the humans had found some way to simply make him... disappear._

 _I wanted to know. And I couldn't. I was trapped here, burning, blind, and unable to move._

 _It took control, so very much self-control to force myself back into that near-sleeping state, where time passed so very quickly, where it simply... flew away._

 _I had long given up any hope of ever being freed when, once again, something... changed._

 _This time... I felt it in my entire being. Another connection._

 _And this one... this was much, much stronger._

 _I raced down it, wondering just what was on the other end... And as I neared the other end of the connection and realized what was there, I retreated just as quickly as I'd gone._

 _A baby._

 _A_ human baby _._

 _I remained there in shock._

 _How was this possible? How was it that there was a connection to such a fragile creature, when for so very long, I had been trapped here?_

 _Ah... but I knew. Because Lorelei had told me just enough of his hyperresonance for me to figure it out._

 _Isofon._

 _That baby, that tiny, newborn human boy... had the exact same fonon frequency that_ I _did. And that meant..._

 _I settled in to wait as the child grew to an age I'd be able to hold an actual conversation with him, childish as the whole thing might end up being._

 _I had a way to learn of the outside world again, to see things as they were now... and to see if it was possible for my siblings and I to be freed._

 _And humans lived such very short lives..._

 _A waiting game, perhaps._

 _But I'd waited for so long already... this would be nothing._

Shadow pulled away finally, and if I hadn't already been seated, I'd have fallen on my ass.

As it was, Jade promptly fell over sideways, balance completely off. And he wasn't the only one.

"Ugh... Do you have to do that swaying back and forth thing so much...?" Dark grumbled, looking damn near ready to throw up.

Shadow looked sheepish, while I just snickered.

Watching everyone either fall over or turn green was hilarious.

I slowly forced myself to my feet, dispelling the Energy Circles as I did so. I was a bit dizzy myself, but...

I stepped a few feet away from Shadow, closed my eyes, and _felt_. Felt with my telepathy, my loose control over the Energies in the area...

And then started to move, running through the martial artes kata Sync had managed to teach me between punching the daylights out of me.

My balance returned quickly, and my eyes snapped open as I ran the kata again, re-familiarizing myself with a solid, female, _human_ body.

Shadow watched on warily, as did most of the group scattered around the garden.

Except, Sync, Myre, Asch... They were already up and doing the same thing, or something similar, and Jade was at least working on getting back to his feet.

 _Movement_. That was something we all needed.

And I said so aloud.

Which got the rest of their asses moving.

Once we'd mostly gotten back on our feet again, I noted that there was still one person lost in his own mind, and walked over and tapped Dark on the shoulder.

He jumped a bit, mismatched eyes looking up at me, and I hummed. "Penny for your thoughts?"

He blinked a me a couple times before he forced himself to his feet. "We are _not_ sealing them like that again."

I shrugged. "Thought that was obvious."

Myre snorted. "So what the hell are we supposed to do about Gnome? Lorelei's ability to constrict the others only goes so far, and that leaves _him_ unchecked."

"Which is a large part of why I'm still trying to get things straightened around in the command chain," I replied. "You were looking for the information on _that_ seal..." I paused and bit my lip. "My mom... She's got a couple of books, back on Earth. We never had anything even close to the sentiences, but..."

"But?"

I grimaced. "Humans. Able to wield Energies to as much effect as the sentiences wield fonons. In a world where magic is _not_ commonplace... They're the reason my mother and I always had to hide what we could do." I stopped and shook my head, forcing off the unease. "If they could enhance themselves that much, then there's a chance we could do something similar to bind and limit the sentiences to their human forms."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay. I've got four (yes, 4!), and I can't put any of them off for later. And they're all mostly to do with names, anyway. So here goes:_

 _Ydaer Fende's name. Ydaer holds Yda's contract, so you'd think that's where the name came from, right? Wrong. I was having trouble spelling 'ready' when we were prepping for a word war, said so, and Brian typed 'ready' backwards. I looked like a good name, so I used it... And realized three days later that there was a similarity._

 _Pryllena of Kazan. (This is the one I set aside a few Parts back.) She's actually a cameo appearance from my Demon Lord series (which has yet to be posted). Pryllena is the original name of Pyre, the Archfiend of Fire. She also shows up occasionally when hellhounds are involved as the Goddess of the Volcano. 'Kazan' is Japanese for 'volcano.'_

 _The Disuda Clan. The hiragana for 'ta', with a mark called a tenten, becomes 'da.' Remove the tenten, and this would be Disuta. 'Disuta' came from 'Dist.' ...And now we know why Shadow took_ that _spot. Or why Saphir picked 'Dist' as an alias, other than it being a short version of a musical term like the other God-Generals. Either way, point made._

 _And I believe I promised more of Brian's shenanigans, so I present... Endyr! So when I was writing this, during another word war, mind you, Endyr's 'name' was [Fraggit]. I posted this in Skype to ask for help giving him a real name. Brian, in continuing with last chapter's New Fraggit, posted this: "Oh, Fraggit? Was that the original drunken hero that the mayor of Fraggit named the town after?"_


	69. Chapter 9-5 Part 69

_First things first... Didn't ya'll like my April Fools Day post? Haha... I told ya'll Kairi took President Snow's job._

 _To the first two Guest reviewers: You should've taken a second glance at that date, and kept in mind that I'm in Illinois._

 _To the third Guest reviewer: Yes, this was my April Fool's Prank this year. And yes, that was the rough draft of my Hunger Games story. All stories/OCs belong to me. (That wasn't even all my WIPs. I have too many stories I need to get written.) Of course the canon characters belong to their rightful owners. And some of those titles are subject to change._

 _To V01d: You should pay more attention to the Skype chat. I warned you the April Fool's joke was coming._

 _Oh, and yes, credit where credit is due: Endyr's name was picked out for me by V01dSw0rd. (Honestly, I had so many names in the flashback chapters that needed picked out that I honestly couldn't remember if it was V01d or Brian who gave me Endyr. (Ender, actually, but the man insisted on spelling it with a 'y'.)) Kenji and New Ebenthan came from, uh... -runs off momentarily to go check FFnet name- Ah, so he is IrishPanther on here. Okay. So yeah. I had a lot of help with names. (And I don't remember who gave me 'Orothur'. I want to say Brian, but I could be wrong.)_

 _By the way, if ya'll are having fun with Brian's shenanigans, I promise I have more I can share. He's ten levels of hilarious, and also awesome at catching (and helping to fill) plot holes. Though I'm still having trouble getting the mental image of Undine and Guy playing strip poker out of my head._

 _This chapter is probably another one of my favorites. Really. Right up there with Part 62. (Any guesses on what's happened? I've been hinting at it for a few parts now.)_

* * *

" _I won't tell Tear if you don't tell Asch." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.5 – Melody of Memory  
Part 69**

I was woke up that night from a nightmare. I wouldn't have admitted it to any of the others, but I was, very, very shaken. Not by what we'd seen, not by Shadow's memories...

By what I'd brought up afterwards.

There was a reason why the Rages were never mentioned.

And it had taken me a few minutes, but I'd realized, after I'd mentioned it, that I was getting rather strong, myself. Not quite Rages-strong, not yet...

I shuddered, slipped around a corner, and did my best to force that thought off.

Except... I couldn't quite get that feeling to go away. The feeling that something... something...

I stopped, closed my eyes, and took a second look at that feeling I was getting.

Because it was... _off_ , for it to have something to do with the Rages.

Thoughts of the Rages flew out of my mind as I realized what it _really_ was.

Reighn was awake. _Had_ been awake.

I grinned and laid down a telepathic field, racing through Eldrant as quickly as I could. It was dark, but that meant little when the light from the moon, the stars, the _springs_ was bright enough to light the way.

I slowed as I started to approach Reighn, and slipped around some trees, noting Reighn sitting on a boulder next to one of the larger springs.

He was staring at the water, with an unreadable expression on his face, and I walked over slowly, trying not to startle him. He looked like he was lost in thought, and, well...

The soft silver glow from the spring, the moonlight... he looked like a blue and silver wraith on that rock, just sitting there, staring into the water like it was the only thing in the universe that mattered.

I knelt next to the pool and dipped my hands in the water, taking a drink while I was here. I'd left my canteen back in the headquarters, and, well... It wasn't like it would dirty up the water. The glow faded just a tad as what I didn't drink fell back into the spring, right around where it fell, before the faded glow became impossible to discern.

"Is that actually _safe_?"

I smiled and looked up at Reighn. "Very. It's just water."

"It's _glowing_ ," Reighn pointed out. And, was it just me, or did he seem... upset about that?

I nodded. "Fairy water. I might have accidentally overdone a cleansing spell."

Reighn snorted. "I didn't sleep _that_ long..." He paused and shot me a look, even as I bit my lip. "...did I?"

I sighed. "A couple of months. You've... missed a lot," I admitted. "But at least you're awake now. Aerith will be thrilled... once she's up in the morning."

Reighn looked up at the sky. "You're up late. For you. Aren't you usually asleep by now?"

I sat down properly and started trailing my fingertips through the water, letting the red-orange trace patterns through the silvery glow. "I... I tried sleeping, but..." I stopped and shuddered. "I brought up something. We were talking about trying to seal the sentiences without resorting to what the Clans did three thousand years ago, and I... I mentioned people that we called the Rages back on Earth. I woke about an hour ago and... you know me. Once I'm up, that's it. I'm up."

Reighn hummed. "So... Dare I ask how much has happened?"

I lifted my hand, letting the water trail after it, and noted Reighn staring. "It's just enhanced with a lot of moon Energies, Reighn. A little bit of a nudge, and it's following my fingertips," I said. "As for everything that's happened... Oh boy. That's a list. Cantabile's pregnant, Asch is the king, Sync's freed from Gnome, Guy's dead—"

Reighn choked, and I looked up at him and blinked. "What the hell happened to you?!"

He looked worried. Extremely so. I just stared at him, because I didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"You're... _different_. And I don't think it's just the nightmare," he said. "You're... apathetic, almost. Like you've finally figure out how to box everything up. And... I honestly never thought you'd be _capable_ of that."

I realized what he was talking about suddenly. And then had to force myself not to facepalm. Because that would have gotten water all over me.

"Rem tore apart my mindscape... Or, rather... She tore apart the illusion I'd been hiding behind for most of my life," I said, voice soft. "I... Asch was right. I lose a lot of myself doing that. But..." I looked up and bit my lip, tracing out faint patterns of craters and dust streaks on the moon's surface. "But I also kinda slip a little away from humanity. People like me and Jade... we're unstable. We're _meant_ to be unstable. And, maybe Jade's stabilized, but that's not necessarily a good thing."

Reighn took a deep breath. "So, you haven't really _changed_ , just..."

"Just kinda taken a step to the left of the crazy line," I muttered. "And Gnome's realized that. Which is why he's probably given up on trying to out-stubborn me." I paused. "And, well, Kade and I did stab him with a giant sword made purely out of miasma."

Reighn sat back on his hands and gave me a _look_. "Talk. Now. Starting with what happened in Baticul, since my memory's a bit fuzzy."

I snickered, but did so, occasionally making good use of the moon energies in the spring to turn the surface into an image of whatever had happened. Reighn seemed reluctant to even touch the water, but as I got to the meeting we'd just had, explaining everything Shadow had shown us, he finally managed to reach down and trail his own fingers through it.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised that the silvery glow simply brightened as he did so, though there was a bit of a blue tinge.

A lot like his eyes, I supposed...

I sighed after I finished. "So... I guess... at least now we know more about how this whole mess started. Now if only we could figure out how to seal all the sentiences without having to put them in those monoliths again."

Reighn hummed, hand raising, and a whole globule of water following. He managed to maintain the shifty, Energy-looking orb for about a minute before his control wavered and the majority of the water splashed back into the spring. "Well. We could always start at the third Archive. Not sure how much good I'll do in a fight, though. It doesn't look like the muscular degeneration hit me too hard, but..." He shrugged. "Two months. That means I'm probably worse off than I feel."

I hummed. "Not necessarily. I was using Energies to try to keep the muscular degeneration from hitting too hard. It probably won't take you all that long to get back to full strength," I told him.

"Maybe so, but I still—What was that?!"

My eyes shot to the pool, just in time to spot the decidedly _pink_ glow before it faded to silver.

I blinked a few times, and then the pink glow returned, and I smiled. "I think this spring suddenly just found itself a spirit to protect it," I replied as the pink glow shifted and then an orb of water rose up from the surface to hover over the spring itself. It hovered there for a bit before it shifted again, taking on a feminine form, and I smiled. She was still a glowing pink mass of water, but her choice of form was telling.

"Hello, little one."

The spirit shifted, back and forth over the spring, gold and pink trailing in the water where her feet touched. I smiled a bit, even as her form seemed to solidify a bit more, some of the pink being overcome with blue.

"He...hello..."

Reighn was gaping. I'd have reached over and shut his mouth for him, but my arm didn't quite reach that far, and really glancing away from the little glowing spirit for more than a few moments was... not something I really wanted to do at the moment.

I held out a hand, gently, pulling up some sun Energies from my own Core, and the spirit darted back and forth, like she was about to run, almost.

So I froze like that, one hand held out, and tilted my head to the side a bit. "I won't hurt you, little one." I was shoving down every ounce of miasma in my system just in case, too.

The little water fairy-looking spirit continued her wary dance, before she finally flitted across the water, paused a few inches from my hand, and then reached out carefully.

I pulled up the sun Energies, carefully making sure they weren't contaminated with the miasma, and let the Energies flow around my hand, the one the little spirit was just barely touching.

The first glimmer of sharp gold in her arm had her pulling away for a second, except...

Her form seemed to settle a bit more, and she stared down at her hand for a moment before dancing back over and accepting a few more sun Energies. She'd been born of water and moon, after all.

She needed _something_ to balance it out, or her life would be fleeting, and the spirit Energy that made up her soul would simply move on.

She pulled away after a little bit, and then shifted around some more. She was more a peach color now, but she seemed to like the results, and was more than happy to dance around on the surface of the water in front of us.

With the newborn spirit's Energy Core now stable enough to actually support a life, I looked over at Reighn, who was _still_ gaping.

"If you're trying to catch flies, I'm sure fly paper would be better."

Reighn's mouth snapped shut with an audible click of teeth, and he blinked at me. I grinned back, highly amused by his baffled expression.

The spirit finally danced back over closer to us, and seemed to be hovering in front of me, so I looked at her again.

"Thank... thank you."

I smiled. "You're quite welcome, little one."

I could practically feel Kade vibrating with pleasure. He was quite happy with what I'd just done.

"Why do... do you call me that?"

I hummed. "You haven't chosen a name yet."

The spirit shifted back and forth a bit, before she turned to Reighn and drifted over to him. "Will... Will you give me a name?"

Reighn stared at her for a long few minutes, then looked over at me, and I shrugged and made a 'go ahead' motion.

His eyes shifted back to the little spirit, and he was quiet for a few minutes, a contemplative look on his face. I wondered what he would pick, even as I leaned back on my hands and looked up at the sky.

There was too much light pollution to stargaze. Between the moon, which was damn near full, the glowing springs, and the torches lit all over Eldrant...

"What do you think of Thalassa?" Reighn finally asked the spirit.

She shifted a bit. "Thalassa... Thalassa..."

Then she jumped up, flying around Reighn in a blue-peach streak, and I heard her giggle. "I like it! Thank you Papi!"

Reighn froze, and silver eyes slid over to me, where I was sitting with my hand shoved in my mouth to muffle the laughter.

Then Thalassa was dancing around my shoulders. "And you too, Mema!"

Reighn damn near fell headfirst in the spring as I froze.

Then the both of us busted up laughing.

"I won't tell Tear if you don't tell Asch," I managed between snickers.

Reighn nodded, unable to speak past his guffaws.

Thalassa floated in front of us warily. "Did I... say something wrong?" she asked.

I grinned at her. "No, it's alright, sweetheart. Reighn and I just found it amusing," I said, holding out a hand. She danced over to sort-of stand in my palm, and I smiled at her.

Reighn slipped off his boulder—probably a good idea, he'd damn near fallen off that thing into the spring a minute ago—and sat down next to me, and Thalassa danced around both our shoulders for a bit before skating across the spring again.

I reached out, playing around with the water a bit, using it to draw shapes in the air, while Reighn watched on. Thalassa joined me after a while, working out how to do it quickly, and I smiled as she turned it into a game.

Reighn hummed and looked up at one point, and I let the water I'd been playing with fall back to the spring as I did the same.

The sky was brightening. It looked like the night had ended, and the world was waking up, ready to greet the new day...

"Do you think we'll actually be able to manage it?" he asked. "Stopping Gnome's rampage?"

I nodded. "I'm sure we will," I said. "And besides. You said you knew where the third Archive was, so I guess that's as good a place as any to start looking. Tataroo Valley's a bust, and if Ryndor finds anything, we'll know."

Reighn hummed, rocking back and forth. "You know Ryndor used to be part of the Order?"

I'd been reaching into my back to find my wingpack, and the brush within it, but I froze about then and glanced at Reighn. "What brought this on?" I asked. A bit of a strange shift in subject.

"Just thinking... The Order's upper levels have been torn apart, _again_ , so that means we have to fill the ranks, _again_ ," Reighn started. Then he shrugged. "And, well, he used to be a Fon Master Guard. So I figure, you're going to get bumped up to either second or first Division, depending on Cantabile, and I guess either I'll take over the third Division or I'll set Aerith to it. But..."

I hummed. "Aerith's more than happy to help with the Order, but I don't think she actually wants to get involved."

"She never did. Which is why I'm thinking I'll have to, and that leaves the Fourth Division open. Ryndor's got experience, and... I'm not sure I want to give that position to Anise yet. She's good, but..."

"Good, but still young, not quite ready for something like that," I murmured, seeing exactly where Reighn was going.

Reighn nodded.

We weren't alone with Thalassa much longer, as a grumbling Asch walked over and plopped down on my other side.

Judging from his wet hair, Jade had Splashed him awake again this morning.

I hummed. "Do I need to go after my brother for attempting to start the next war between Malkuth and Kimlasca?"

Asch shot me a scowl, and I snorted. He rolled his eyes. "Someday I'll wake up early enough to Splash _his_ ass."

Thalassa, Reighn, and I laughed again.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _...So. I recently posted a one-shot called Silver Waters for the Room's Memoir Madness event, right? Well, let's put it this way. I wrote for Reighn to wake him up, he didn't like the original version, so he completely rewrote it for me. And apparently... well._

 _Reighn: "You know Ryndor used to be part of the Order?"  
Me: "Wait, what?"  
Reighn: "Yup. Also, he assassinated Evenos. Final orders Evenos gave him before he left the Fon Master Guards."  
Me: "...What?"  
Reighn: "And we kept in contact even after he left, since, you know, we were the youngest two guards for a couple years."  
Me: "...Anything else you feel like dropping on my head in this particular vein?"  
Reighn: -looks thoughtful- "He forged the paperwork the Order has that says I'm a year older than I really am."  
Me: "..." -turns and walks away-_

 _So apparently he and Ryndor have been in cahoots for a while and I hadn't realized it. This... explains a lot.  
_


	70. Chapter 9-6 Part 70

_Oh right. Updating. That thing I should have done back on Friday. -is shot-_

 _So yeah. Here's another update. That's only three days late. Also, Camp's not going too well. May need to adjust my goals and stuff. Oh well._

* * *

 _"I spy something... oh dear." -Jade_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.6 - Melody of Memory  
Part 70**

"So."

I gave Myre an unamused look. "Yes? I'm flying, here." Because Noelle was still mourning, and Ginji was out on another assignment.

Myre leaned over the empty co-pilot's seat. "See, thing is... I'd have sworn I heard Reighn say we were going to the Inista Marsh."

"What of it?"

There was silence.

"Oh gods no please tell me we're not actually going to the Inista Marsh..."

I glanced up at Myre, whose face was now paper-pale. "We're going to the Inista Marsh. Why is this a problem?"

Blue eyes shot back to the space in the back, where Reighn, Sync, Selenia, Asch, Jade, Rialle, Solace, Path, Hue, and a bored-as-hell Ifrit were currently playing a game of 'I Spy.'

This was occurring mostly due to Ifrit, as he had the attention span of a child, and apparently the topic of Sync's time as Gnome's puppet was too depressing for everyone else.

From what little I could hear, Jade was currently winning. Because of course they'd come up with a way to keep track of points. Which was probably Jade's idea, for the sole purpose to trumping everyone in an extremely simple game.

Myre took a shaky breath, and my attention returned mostly to her. "Twelve went in. Four came out. Remember?"

I blinked a few times. Remember _what_ —

Sync.

 _Myre's_ Sync.

The Behemoth.

I set the autopilot to take us to Belkend. I'd have to correct our course later, but we were still a ways out and that was the best choice. The blizzard around Baticul had died down finally, but the city was positively buried in snow.

I was on my feet almost instantly, and Myre jumped back a bit as I moved.

"I spy something... oh dear," Jade cut off, watching me stride down the aisle between the seats. "I don't like that face."

"Behemoth."

The entire scene froze, and then the cursing started.

And Myre did not look at all amused by the response to my statement. "What, did you all forget it was there? Honestly, I distinctly remember that thing chasing us out of the marsh after Ingobert sorta not really disowned Natalia."

Everyone gave her an odd look, seemed to remember she was a time-traveling Selenia, and then went back to grumbling.

"What worked last time?" Reighn asked. "Since I wasn't with you guys for that?'

"Rafflesia pollen, Tear's hymns, and Asch's hyperresonance, but I don't know if it was a combination of those things or if it was just one of them doing it, and if it was Tear's hymn, then we are shit out of luck," Sync replied. "Then again, when are we not?"

I gave Asch a look, and he smacked my little brother for me like a good fiancé. "So, I guess that means we need to work on strategy," I started. "Of course, we'll have to get pollen again, and we'll have Asch. We'll have to hope that's enough, or that we'll find the Archive entrance before the Behemoth finds us... Reighn, why are you making that face?"

Reighn tried to look sheepish. "Well.. the Archive is, in part, an Auldranti fonslot, or a smaller sephiroth, to put it in terms that everyone will probably understand better. So, if it's drawn to fonons... it could well be using a part of that same cave system as its nest."

I scowled. "You couldn't have told us that earlier?"

"Forgot about the Behemoth even being there. Honestly, if you guys hadn't had to deal with it on the run from Baticul, I would have forgotten it was even alive."

I raised a hand and aimed my pointer and middle fingers at him, mining taking a shot. Most of the other just shot him the evil eye.

"Well, what are we going to do to fight it? It didn't seem to be hurt by anything other than the hyperresonance, hymns, and pollen last time," Myre noted.

I sat down. "If nothing else, Silver Clematis' poison seems to work on just about everything."

Myre didn't seem convinced. "And what, are we just going to rely on that sword to do the job that twelve people couldn't do in my timeline?"

I shrugged. "If all else fails, Kade and I can go all gestalt on its ass, though I'd really rather not do that. It's exhausting, honestly, and it's really weird trying to adjust to only having two arms afterwards."

Everyone stared at me.

"Gestalt?" Jade asked. I smiled.

"It's a Transformers thing. I'll explain it later, when all this is over, and then it'll probably make a lot more sense," I replied.

Jade didn't look like he actually wanted to know, and even if he'd asked, the alarm up front started beeping at me, telling me to get my ass back into the pilot's seat so I could turn us and get us to the edges of the marsh.

It wasn't much longer before we were all piling out of the Albiore II, and I looked at the marsh, noting that it was currently high tide. "Ugh... anyone else want to put this off for a few hours?" I asked.

Jade chuckled. "We can't, unfortunately, but that's why we brought the rowboats."

I looked at him incredulously. "Wait, we actually brought rowboats?"

Reighn chuckled. "Yes, I had a feeling this might happen. The Inista Marsh was supposed to flood like this but hasn't for years. With the Outer Lands now back down in the Qliphoth and Undine free, I thought it might be necessary."

I sighed. "Okay, so how are we splitting up?"

"Three boats, so four to a boat," Jade noted. "So Reighn, Asch, Rialle, Solace, I'd say you four in one; Path, Selenia, Ifrit, and Kairi in the second; and myself, Hue, and Sync in the third with Myre. Any arguments?"

"Not here," I replied. "So, I guess we should go get the bags of pollen before we get going."

Reighn nodded. "We won't need it until we get to the uplands where the Archive entrance is. If we're going to run into the Behemoth, it'll be in that area. It's too wet for it to walk around right now, so it'll have retreated to its den."

I scowled at the reminder. "Right. So. Pollen."

There was a bit of a rush to get the bags of pollen ready, and once they were handed out to our best throwers—Rialle, Ifrit, and Sync—we split up into the boats and started rowing, with my boat in the lead for whatever reason.

Reighn was right about one thing, though. The Behemoth didn't come after us. There was too much water, and we really did need the boats to get around. We'd have been swimming otherwise.

We reached land around high noon, and then I had to contend with the fact that Reighn had been correct, again.

The Behemoth was here... and for right now at least, asleep.

"Maybe if we're quiet, we won't have to fight it right now..." Sync muttered. The group as a whole started to shuffle around, hoping that that would be the case, but when the Behemoth shifted, we all froze.

And then it swung its head around, snorted at us, and was on its feet and ready to charge.

Kade sensed the challenge, and I could feel within him that this was something that _he_ needed to deal with.

"Stay back," I muttered, already stepping forward at a slow, steady pace.

"Kairi?" Jade started. "Please tell me you're not about to do something crazy..."

"Kade wants to play," I replied. And then I wasn't really there, was simply floating, miasma whirling around me and forming up into the solid, familiar form of Kade. And Kade had control this time, not me, and I wasn't going try to tear that control away from him. He wanted to fight, so I let him, and simply sat back and watched.

The Behemoth didn't respond much at first, not any different than it had against the humans, and it charged at Kade.

The moment Kade's sword came into contact with it, I realized just what it was.

The Behemoth was an echo of him. A distorted, warped piece of him that needed to be re-absorbed.

I got the sinking feeling that it was going to hurt when Kade managed to defeat it, but at least that lost piece would be back where it belonged.

Kade twisted, spun, and unleashed a larger, pure black version of Guardian's Pain.

The Behemoth screeched, and then tried to run.

Kade bounded after it, not giving it quarter for even a second, and then it was over, because Kade had all four swords through its body, and the miasma that made it up was shifting back into him...

Along with the spirit Energy the Behemoth had been hoarding.

That feeling of being whole made me smile for a moment before fire erupted in my body, and Kade's form collapsed around me.

I was unconscious before I even hit the ground.

When I woke again, it was to a space lit by sixth fonons. I knew what caverns lit such tended to look like, and the light was both a comforting familiarity and a worrying reminder.

I must have been put here by one of the others...

I managed to sit up after a few minutes, fire still lacing through my body, and I dared to sit cross-legged and slip out of my body to check and see if there was any damage.

There wasn't, thank gods, but that didn't negate the fact that there was _far_ too much miasma in my system.

I slipped back into my body, stood, and started walking, glancing this way and that as I tried to navigate the caverns.

I was grateful that I managed to make it outside before any of the others caught up to me, and there were a few monsters out and about now that it was low-tide.

There was still plenty of water in the marsh, but there were more than enough monsters within range for me to hit them with a few Guardian's Pains. That was always the fastest way to get rid of excess miasma.

I'd just managed to wipe out everything in the area when Jade stepped out of the cavern.

"You know, normally the first thing someone does after turning into a giant skeleton-monster made of miasma and then waking up from the subsequent passing out is let their friends know they're awake."

I looked around, wilted a bit when I realized I was out of monsters to kill, and trudged back up the hill to where Jade was. "I was trying to work off some of the miasma without simply expelling it from my body," I replied. I stopped a few yards away from him and sighed. "Stay back. I've still got way too much, so I don't have a choice at this point."

Jade blinked at me, then took an extra couple steps back just in case.

A moment later, I had a nice little haze of miasma around me, and it dispersed quickly enough.

My brother was silent as I walked back up to the Archive entrance and moved to enter. He led the way, keeping me from getting lost this time, and it was probably a good thing, as by the time we got to the Archives themselves, I was utterly lost.

"You know... the entire point behind Asch and Luke unleashing that combined hyperresonance at the Tower of Rem..."

"It's not that much miasma, and it does break down naturally. Normally, at least. Kade isn't sure what caused the mess that the Dawn Age folks had to raise the Outer Lands to avoid. Apparently there never should have been that much miasma in the first place."

Jade hummed. "Well, we'll have to look into it later. For now, sentiences." He stopped and looked over the large cavern that held the Inista Marsh Archives, and I looked around curiously. I didn't really see the others, but then, if the Archives here were as expansive as they were in the other two places...

"Reighn should be over that way somewhere, and I think Asch went _that_ direction," Jade started, pointing to the left and right respectively. "We've all been taking turns checking on you. You've been out of it for three hours."

I nodded. "Noted. Is this all organized by the same 'this is an open space, so this is where I'll stick it' method as the other two?"

Jade groaned. "Unfortunately. And from the looks of things, what we're looking for is going to be in one of the side-rooms, not this main room," he said. "Credit where credit is due—at least this Archive was better-built."

Kade was grumbling in the back of my head, and I managed to get a vague reason out of him.

"According to Kade, this was the original Archive. The Tataroo Valley and Rugnican Archives were added after the Behemoth moved in," I replied. "It's quite possible that _nothing_ in here is going to be _young_ enough to be the right time period."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Oh. Brilliant. Just what I needed to hear."

Poor Jade. He was usually not that blunt with the sarcasm.

I sighed. "Still, we might be able to find something. Kenji found the sealing method they used in a ruin, so maybe if that was older than the Clans, and the Behemoth moved in a few centuries before Gnome lost it, we've still got a chance at finding something."

Jade nodded. "Well. I'm heading into that one again. Pick one and go, I'd say. There's plenty of side-rooms to choose from."

I reached out with my telepathy and felt around, looking to see if there was a side-room that didn't have someone in it yet.

It looked like the only room not being touched was the main room, so after Jade left, I took to roaming up and down the aisles, looking at the books, scrolls, and other items laying around. Most of this, I couldn't read anyway, and what little I could read might as well have been Greek. It didn't seem like anything was what I was looking for...

And that was when I realized that Kade was subtly nudging me in the direction of... something. What exactly, I didn't know yet, and wouldn't know until I found it.

So I started following that feeling, and found myself up near the entrance again. Kade seemed almost anxious, like he didn't want to point this out to me, but he was doing so anyway, so I sort of managed to nudge him back, and then I found what he'd been directing me to.

It was... a skull. One that looked just like his own. Was this...?

He nudged me to touch it, so I did...

It, like the Behemoth, burst into a cloud of miasma that was absorbed into me.

And with it came knowledge.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** So, originally, I'd intended for the new seals to use the Monolith spirits, just like the seals the Clans used. However... as Myre (and lots of other folks) keeps reminding us, we have to seal Lorelei too. I thought, 'Oh, alright. I'll just use Kade. That should work, right?'_

 _Until Ifrit less-than-subtly let me know that Kade was on the same level as the sentiences. Not a level below them, like the Monolith spirits. The same level._

 _Kade, the darling (read: pain in the ass), presented me with a solution. A solution we start to see the origins of in this chapter. We'll be seeing more of it in the next two updates._


	71. Chapter 9-7 Part 71

_Haha, poor Ifrit._

 _Sorry, I know I'm running late. Been a rather bad month in general._

* * *

 _"Please tell meh ya got somethin' fo' meh ta do that ain't this, an' it ain't gonna hurt ya in the process. Ah ain't up ta pissin' Asch off at the momen'." -Ifrit_

* * *

 **Chapter 9.7 - Melody of Memory  
Part 71**

Kade knew what we needed to do. He'd known, and had, until recently, forgotten. Or rather, the knowledge had been sealed away. And that... that actually gave me a bit of hope.

Kade's power over the miasma was still there. His ability to ride the fonons through the planet's core, which was how he had always moved around before, had still been there. And he could still forge his weapons.

But the vast majority of his knowledge, a large deal of his ability to limit his own aggression... those had been regained when he'd defeated the Behemoth, when I'd touched the skull.

I found it a bit ironic in the Behemoth's case, really. That thing was nothing _but_ aggression, and yet, Kade was infinitely calmer with that piece of him back.

I followed my telepathic field to Ifrit. Asch would just give me an unamused look and refuse to help me. Ifrit... Ifrit couldn't read, not that well yet—it sounded like someone had taken the time to start teaching him the current written language, at least—so while he was looking around for anything that said 'sealing,' he really wasn't helping the others all that much, and he was currently alone.

I stepped into the side-cavern that had apparently been set aside as his and found him within seconds, standing not all that far from the entrance.

"Ifrit."

He turned and blinked at me, then looked torn between worry and relief. "Please tell meh ya got somethin' fo' meh ta do that ain't _this_ , an' it ain't gonna hurt ya in the process. Ah ain't up ta pissin' Asch off at the momen'."

I snorted a bit. "Something like that, if you consider the fact that the miasma doesn't hurt me anymore."

Ifrit grinned. "A'right then! Where to?"

I snorted again, much more amused this time. That was easy...

I prodded Kade, and got back an answer. "Zao Ruins is the closest one."

Ifrit tilted his head to the side. "Closest? We goin' multiple places?"

I nodded. "We're tracking down a few things of Kade's that he's... misplaced."

Ifrit smirked back and held out a bandage-wrapped arm. "Wheneva ya ready, then."

I wasted no time clasping arms with him. The longer we waited, the more likely it was that Asch would notice the telepathic field and try to come track me down.

Fire enveloped us, and deposited us in the desert outside the ruins. "'is is as close as ah can get doin' tha'," Ifrit said. I sighed.

"At least we didn't have to trek across the whole damn desert in the process," I replied, turning and heading into the ruins.

I knew the path down to the sephiroth rather well now, but we stopped about halfway down and took a different path, this time, working our way down and _away_ from the passage ring. It took Ifrit and I about an hour to get down to the draw Kade could feel, and I lost track of the number of monsters we had to fight after a while. Nor did I especially care.

Kade had, at some point, been pulled apart and sealed away in _pieces_. Pieces that had since been scattered.

There was an old shrine at the end of the path, and Ifrit paused at the edge of the clearing.

"Ah can't go any furtha," he said after a moment. I nodded. That was a good sign, it meant that what I was looking for was close. There wouldn't be any monsters here. We hadn't fought any for the last few hundred yards, and if Ifrit couldn't come closer, there was no way a monster could.

The inside of the shrine was dark and dusty, as was to be expected, but it was what was sitting on the altar that drew my eyes.

A burnished gold medallion on a chain. It was large, too large to be worn comfortably by a human... but for Kade...

I stepped forward, my pace a purposeful one, and stopped in front of the altar, not quite touching the medallion until Kade prompted me to.

Another burst of miasma, another cloud of it absorbed, and I could feel what had been returned to Kade this time.

His ability to manifest as the sentiences did, in his base form, wherever the miasma existed, rather than having to expend massive amounts of energy to form up on his own like he had to fight us each time.

I left the shrine and rejoined Ifrit, who was idly playing with a fireball. I sighed at the image. He was so easily entertained, sometimes...

He noticed me, smiled, and held out his arm, fireball fizzing out into nothing after a few seconds. "Next?"

"Home, for you." Mt. Zaleho. That was the next location.

Ifrit blinked twice, then grinned, and we were gone in seconds.

He was able to bring us out in the passage ring this time, which didn't surprise me in the least, and I sighed and started walking. "Might actually need your help to get to this one," I mused. "Kade's assuring me that I should be able to get to it without dying, but I don't care for lava burns."

Ifrit chuckled. "Yeah, ah can't blame ya."

I wandered into the caverns, carefully picking my way around. I remembered the path we'd taken to get to Florian when Mohs had taken him in Solace's place, but that wasn't the path I wanted, at all. And the thing is, while the game did an excellent job showing off Auldrant... It didn't show anything that wasn't needed for the game to progress.

So getting to this next piece was going to be an utter pain in the ass. Because I was getting the impression that the piece we were looking for was another part of Kade's skeleton. And it probably hadn't been put down here like the medallion had been placed in that shrine. It had probably just been thrown into the volcano.

So it was with some vague amusement that we reached the first point in the path where the lava was in the way.

I could see the path on the other side. However. Lava.

And though it rose and fell like it always seemed to do, it didn't fall enough.

Ifrit chuckled. "Ah see where the complainin' bout the burns came from." He took a step forward and _shoved_ , and the lava moved with him, clearing the path. "Okay, betta move fast."

I didn't waste a second, already racing through the space. Once on the other side, though, I stopped and gave him a look as the lava closed up the space again.

Then Ifrit, the fragging show-off, strolled right across the surface of the lava. He chuckled a bit. "Hey, _you_ burn. Ah don't."

I rolled my eyes and continued along the pseudo-path, until we got to another section.

This made Kade pause, and then make an oddly confused sound. I crossed my arms and scowled at the large 'lake' of lava. "Hey, you said it was this way. Don't give me that 'you're lost' shit _now_."

Kade didn't seem too amused. _:There should have been a walkway here. It's... gone.:_

"You've been down here before?"

 _:Yes, with Francis Daath. This was one I actually did on purpose, but I need it back now, for the time being, at least.:_

I frowned. "Well. Unless someone's got a bright idea."

Ifrit hummed. "Ah can't move _that_ much o' the lava... but..." He stopped and pointed to a ledge on the other side of the lake. "That where we're aimin'?" he asked. I nodded, and he held out an arm. "Ya lucky it's _you_. Here..."

I took his arm, and was a bit surprised to be wrapped in fire, except... I could still see the cavern.

Ifrit had just 'flown' us across using the same thing he used to teleport us.

I frowned and gave him a look. "What did you mean, I'm lucky it's me?"

Ifrit grimaced. "Ya got a lotta natural fire o' ya own. Ah can draw on that ta keep ya from burnin'. It's why ah can't do the big groups like Lorelei can. Ah'd kill somebody."

I hummed and nodded. "Noted. And thank you."

He smiled back, and we continued, at least until Ifrit couldn't go any further.

I kept going through the tunnel, half on the second plane where I could at least use the Energies to see. When I finally walked out into an open space, I cursed a bit, danced around the still-glowing lava on the floor, and managed to get to the other side.

There were four things here, and I had to stop and stare for a minute before prodding Kade.

 _:Those are...:_ Kade started in mild confusion. Then something I could only describe as _shock_ rolled into me through him, and I crossed my arms and waited. _:Those are dragon eggs. Shadow made multiple visits to the dragons in the years he was in the past... He must have brought them here.:_

"So, what do we do with them? I don't think we should leave them in the middle of your ribcage when it bursts into a cloud of miasma, at least."

 _:No, and they really need... Well. In lieu of any actual dragons, we'd best take them back out to Ifrit,:_ Kade replied. _:For now, though, see if you can get them out_ without _touching my ribcage, and put them on the cavern floor. Yes, in the lava. Ifrit can get them out, and it certainly won't harm them.:_

I nodded and proceeded to attempt this. I had always hated the game Surgery as a kid, and I didn't hate it any _less_ now that I was trying to get these fragging _eggs_ out.

First egg out, and I shifted carefully, trying not to lose my balance on the uneven ground as I carefully lowered the egg onto a glowing patch of lava.

One down, two to go...

The second one was slightly easier, as it was at a better angle, and it quickly joined its sibling in the lava.

The third one, though...

I carefully slipped one hand through the gap in the ribcage in the front at the bottom, and carefully scooted the egg back a ways. I couldn't quite twist my arms to reach it from where I'd been pulling them out...

Once it was in the center, I managed to get it out safely as well, and sighed in relief as I sat it with the other two and then turned back to the ribcage.

I reached out and put one hand to the bones, and it did as I'd expected and burst into a cloud of miasma.

This time, though, it didn't simply shift into my body.

It pulled on part of the miasma within me, and then collapsed into a solid form with a strong resemblance to one of my characters.

I crossed my arms and gave Kade an unamused look. "Someone's been rooting around in my head."

Kade smirked back. "Maybe a little. Your imagination is a fascinating place."

I wasn't quite sure what to say about that. Really. "Honestly. Did you have to pick Xero?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Okay, whatever." Obviously I wouldn't be getting very far by just sitting here and grumbling at him, so... "Should we take the eggs to Ifrit or just tell him they're here?"

"The field stopping him from getting in here should have collapsed the moment you touched my ribcage, so he should be getting fairly curious soon. Or worried."

I shrugged, crouched, and tilted my head as I examined the eggs. "So, how many pieces left?"

"One more. And this one, your fiancé is going to appreciate. Or not, as I'm going to have to pull him to us first."

I sighed. "You're right. Asch is probably not going to be pleased."

Kade shrugged. "He'll live."

We didn't have to wait much longer, because sure enough, Ifrit came wandering in. "Hey, ya okay..." he started, before freezing and staring at the eggs I was still looking at.

Then he was standing on top of the hardened lava, holding a hand over the eggs, and fire sparked up out of the lava to surround the three eggs for a moment. "Come on, bitlets, don't ya give up on meh yet..."

I didn't question Ifrit's words, and then the fire increased and then the eggs were gone, I had the feeling he'd sent them back to wherever his personal space was. He glanced up at me. "How maneh...?"

"Go, Ifrit."

The man looked up at Kade. "I can get her to the last one myself. It's a good thing all the separated parts of me still give off good amounts of miasma, and there's still a good amount back at the Archive."

Ifrit nodded, and then was gone himself, and I stood and stepped over to Kade. "Next?"

He gave me a grim look, and then grabbed my arm.

I felt him pulling on Ultimatus and Asch as we went, but when Asch twisted out before we landed, I frowned.

The cavern we were in was dark, but it was easy enough to see. And from the temperature and the dampness, I'd have initially said we were somewhere in Aramis Springs. Except I'd gotten a vague sense of location when Kade had been jumping, and we were actually somewhere in the area around Choral Castle.

A flash of light deposited Asch off to the side a bit, and I realized why he'd twisted out.

He might have gained some immunity to the miasma thanks to Ultimatus, but he was still Lorelei's isofon and a seventh fonist. It had probably hurt.

Asch blinked at the black-haired, red-eyed man standing next to me, and I sighed. "Asch, Kade. Kade, where is it?"

"I need that sword back for a moment," Kade grunted.

Asch looked confused, but handed over Ultimatus, and Kade strode over to an open section of the floor.

To my surprise, he stabbed it into the floor, and something resembling a fonic glyph appeared.

Except, this wasn't a pure fonic glyph. Nor was it a pure Energy circle. This was some combination of the two.

Miasma rose up out of the cracks, swirled around Kade, and then condensed inward, but didn't collapse into _him_. It collapsed into Ultimatus...

Which as Kade pulled it out of the ground, looked just a tad different.

I blinked as I realized that a large part of Ultimatus' power had also been sealed away, which meant...

Kade hefted the sword with ease, but even with a single set of arms, I realized how he was used to wielding it. Two hands to balance it on one side, and two smaller swords on the other to act as his shield, so to speak.

Kade stepped over to Asch and handed the blade back over, and from the surprised expression Asch wore when he took the sword, he hadn't realized what he'd just witnessed.

Kade stepped over to me, half-burst into a cloud of miasma, and fused.

 _:Back to the Archive.:_

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:** Shadow did a _ lot _more than we actually got to see in those flashbacks. A lot. Because you need to remember that he did actually go back to ten years before they were all sealed, before Gnome even met Anastasia, and as a sentience, doesn't really need to eat or sleep (although maintaining his replica body is easier if he's doing so).  
_

 _The full extent of everything he did is not going to be obvious until we're into the Future Arcs, I don't think, if it's ever obvious in AEtT. But you will know everything he did eventually, as I have every intention to write a side-story (later! After I've finished the Lights Trilogy!) that covers that particular time period._

 _So yeah. Dragon eggs. We definitely have Shadow to thank for this._


	72. Chapter 10-1 Part 72

_Okay, WOW._

 _This particular update was sitting on my computer, ready to be posted, for a month and a half, and then was never posted. Yeah._

 _So I only managed to get ya'll two bonus updates during April Camp. And then I kinda massively failed at doing 150k in May (okay, I managed 117k, but most of the missing 33k was from AEtT). So I'm still not finished writing it._

 _June's goals are mostly focused on a new interactive story I'm working on called The Red Bandit. This one's a Tales of Symphonia fanfiction, so when I post the Week 1 Beta, I'll put the link in a chapter update for anyone who's interested.  
_

 _However, one of June's goals involves finishing AEtT. Just for reference, I owe you guys through Part 82. (And have written through Part 99.)_

 _Since I'm currently procrastinating on continuing with the Day 1 Event Plot in TRB, I decided to do this. At least then I'm doing something useful with my avoiding-Yggdrasill._

 _July is going to be art month, by the way, so anyone following my DeviantART might want to keep an eye out... especially around the 17_ _th_ _, as I'll be posting a new cover for AEtT then._

 _In the meantime... Enjoy!_

* * *

" _Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Legendia... What next, Tales of Graces?" –Sync_

" _And who the hell said it had to be the same six Clans? Or did you miss the part where we're going to need_ eight _?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.1 – Beginning of the End  
Part 72**

Asch followed me back to the Archive by hyperresonance, while Kade had managed to guide me through the whole teleporting via miasma thing, now that he was capable of it as well. It was... odd, to say the least. However, I could feel that there was still a part of him missing, almost, and though it worried me, he was nudging me in a distinct 'that section over there' direction.

Asch followed me as I strode through the Archive. "Okay. Are you planning to tell me what that was all about anytime soon?" he asked.

I hummed. "Let's put it this way. Kade's on the same level the seven sentiences are. And he's been sealed for about four thousand years."

"That certainly didn't slow the miasma down any..."

"If Kade knew how that happened, it wouldn't have happened, now would it? Kinda hard to find people to contract with if everyone's dead."

Asch rolled his eyes. "Hello, miss overkill on the sarcasm. Was wondering where you went."

"I think Rem managed to kill her temporarily."

"Wait, what? Kill who? What's going on? Did we find something?" Sync asked, jogging after us as we walked past an aisle. I frowned.

"What were you doing over there?"

"Looking for Reighn. I can't read half of this stuff," he shot back. "So what's up?"

I stopped rather suddenly, and Sync damn near slammed into me. I glanced at him, then at Asch, then at him again. Then back to Asch. "Did you guys make coffee sometime between Kade killing the Behemoth and me waking up?"

Asch was giving Sync one of those 'I really need to guard the coffee pot better' looks that he usually reserved for me. "Yes."

I nodded. That explained why Sync sounded like he was about to start bouncing off the walls.

I turned and continued to the section Kade had pointed out, and though it took me a few minutes, I managed to find the scrolls I was after. The only problem was, while I was perfectly capable of reading them—and I thanked Kade for that—they were written in a language that pre-dated the Clan Dialect.

I sighed. "Someone find me a desk. I need to get this translated before anyone else can look over it." And well, it was an old scroll, and damn near ready to fall apart, no matter how well the fonic glyphs on the outside had been drawn.

Sync pointed me over to one of the side-caverns, the one he'd been working in before, I noted, and I smiled when I found the table and chairs off to one side. Excellent...

I walked over, sat down, and got to work. This had been the original version of the seal used on Kade. He hadn't had an opposing element for this to work properly then, but now...

Now, Lorelei would do. Kade's miasma wasn't technically fonons, but it still reacted to Lorelei's seventh fonons much as first and sixth fonons tended to react if simply shoved together and expected to cooperate.

Which they wouldn't. At all.

I was about halfway through the scroll when the rest of the group joined us, though Reighn kept looking around. "Where's Ifrit?"

"Taking care of a few dragon eggs," I said without looking up from the scroll.

"I thought there weren't any dragons left," Myre said.

"We think Shadow might have managed to snag a few eggs while Kade wasn't really looking. And it apparently didn't affect the timeline either way, so..."

"So, I know we've kinda been skirting around it," Rialle started. "But was anybody else really, _really_ confused by Lars?"

Reighn looked baffled when I glanced up, but my eyes were quickly drawn back to the page in front of me.

"Perhaps a bit," I admitted. "Then again, I'm still reeling over the whole Ferines thing."

Jade sighed. "Two things. What are you working on, and what are Ferines?"

Count on my brother to simultaneously keep us on task and also get distracted. "This? I'm transcribing this scroll because Kade can read it, but nobody else will be able to. Also, really old scroll and the preservation glyphs are starting to wear off. As for the Ferines... I'd have to explain the entirety of Tales of Legendia to really explain that one."

There was a pause, and then someone facepalmed. I didn't look up to see who.

"Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Legendia... What next, Tales of Graces?" Sync muttered.

I paused to shoot him a sour look. "Shush. Don't jinx it."

Jade snorted. "Watch—we're already too late."

I picked up one of the little knick-knacks littering the table and tossed it at them, then went back to writing.

It was quiet for a bit, though Reighn walked over to start clearing the table off and finish the half-assed dusting job I'd done. Once he was finished, he sat across from me and simply... stared. I put up with it for about three minutes before I stopped, put my pen down, and half-scowled back at him.

He blinked. "Um."

"Spit it out."

"It's nothing, I just—"

"Reighn."

He slumped a little bit. "Just musing over the oddity that is you writing with your right hand but—"

"Wielding a sword with my left? I was _born_ left-handed, but raised to use my right. A lot like a certain redhead I'm engaged to. Except I've never really managed to figure out sword work with my right hand," I replied, going back to writing.

"So all of your kids are going to be left-handed then."

"Yup."

"What brought this conversation on?" Jade wondered idly. I snickered.

"I'm still not done translating this. So apparently Reighn felt the need to fill the space..." I paused, double-checked everything, and then put the pen down and shook my hand. "Ow. Okay. I'm done."

"Yay. No more random conversations. Now what in the world did Kade find?" Asch asked, leaning against the edge of the table.

I held out the notebook I'd been writing in to Reighn, who frowned, took it, and flipped back to the first of the three pages I'd filled up to start reading.

He paused halfway through the first page to flip to the third, then went back to the first and re-read from the beginning. The frown turned into an expression of utter shock, and then faint hope.

He glanced up. "Are you sure—"

I nodded. "Positive."

Reighn sat back against the back of the chair and let his eyes skim over the page again, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "If this actually works..."

"A modified version of that seal was used on Kade. We didn't completely break the seal yet, but we've got everything we need to do so. And we _will_ have to, or we have nothing to counterbalance Lorelei."

Reighn was actually smiling now. "Kairi? Thank Kade for me."

"You're welcome."

Asch and I were the only two who _didn't_ jump, and I coughed. "Oh yeah. He can do that now."

I was not at all surprised when Jade reached over and smacked me.

Kade snorted. "I can see why Shadow's having so much fun with this."

I rolled my eyes. "Please don't make my headache any worse. I know ya'll've got the best intentions, but really, Shadow's gonna get his replica body _killed_ doin' that slag."

Everyone shot me a confused look, and I groaned. "Oh gods I gotta figure out how to get a DVD player here..."

Sync snickered, and Jade sighed. "Alright, back on topic please. What did you find, exactly?"

Kade hummed. "Cross-element summoning seal."

And now he was being shot sour looks. I sighed. "Basically, it would put the limit we've been wanting to put on the sentiences in place without actually locking them up in the monoliths again. It was modified and used originally to seal Kade four thousand years ago, when humans first realized that there was no cure for the miasma."

"They figured, by splitting up my power and sealing me away, that would keep the miasma at non-lethal levels," Kade added. "And, it _should_ have worked. _Did_ work, for about two thousand years. And then..." He shrugged. "Then, the Dawn Age happened. I know the miasma didn't start increasing exponentially until the Planet Storm was created, but between it and the liquefaction..."

"And keep in mind that the only reason they needed the Planet Storm in the first place was because the sentiences had been sealed away a thousand years previously," I piped up.

Which now had everyone frowning at me. "Wait, when did we figure this out?" Reighn asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Back when I first got back to Auldrant."

"That's right, you were looking at the passage ring info at Mt. Zaleho and mentioned something about it," Hue said. I nodded.

"Yes. The current fonon levels, of _all_ fonons, actually are higher than even the Planet Storm levels. So even though there was a drop there for a short while between the Planet Storm stopping and the sentiences being freed..."

"That explains why no one's feeling the effects of the fonon shortage we were expecting," Jade said. "A few of us were starting to theorize that that might be the case, but... Well. I didn't really pay attention to fonon levels before."

"I had to. I was reinforcing the dividing line before we lowered the Outer Lands, remember? And with everything else that had happened..."

Selenia stepped over to Reighn to read over his shoulder. "So, we're sure this'll work? Because if it doesn't... well. Gnome's _angry_."

And, that reminded me.

"I need to get ahold of that pendant Anastasia gave Shadow. He said he was going to give it to Dark to give to Gnome. But I felt something in that memory, when Shadow was holding it, and if I'm right... it might be part of why Gnome's lost it," I said. "Spirit Energies won't recognize a new soul to attach to until the current soul dies. If there was a spirit Energy sealed into that pendant like I think there was, that means Gnome's missing a part of his soul. Giving it to Anastasia was the ultimate sign of trust. Getting it back might stabilize him some."

Reighn hummed. "We'll certainly have to look into it. Either way, Shadow would be right to have Dark give it back, from what I've heard. Those two..."

Selenia finally got sick of trying to read over Reighn's shoulder and simply pulled the notebook out of his hands, which left a spluttering Reighn to watch as she read through it, then handed it off to Myre.

It got passed around a bit as everyone read over it, and I noted that one expression seemed to be showing in _everyone's_ faces by the time the notebook was returned to the table.

Hope.

"So... How exactly are we planning to anchor it?" Jade asked.

Reighn hummed. "There's always the option of finding an object, but..."

"But it would have to be a _part_ of each of us," Kade muttered. "And, speaking from experience, that _hurts_."

There were a few ideas tossed around, which were discarded for one reason or another, before I huffed. "I think we're all missing the obvious answer."

Everyone looked over at me, even a somewhat-befuddled Kade, and I shrugged. "The Clans."

Reighn frowned. "Would that even work anymore? The monoliths were linked to the Clans, but..."

I grabbed my note book, pulled out a blank page, and shoved it off toward the side again before making a rough diagram on it. The four primary elements—water, earth, fire, and wind—were in a circle, like the beginnings of a four-point circle. Lines made more of a wonky square than a proper circle, but I was drawing rather quickly.

Lorelei, memory, was placed right in the center, with a line linking him to Kade's circle drawn straight through the fire circle. Light and dark sat to either side of Kade's circle, their line going right through his, with light under earth and dark under wind.

I then drew a rough diagram of a person's Energy core and turned the page around to face Asch, since only Jade and Kade were standing on the other side of me and Reighn.

"Look. This circle here, minus Kade's and Lorelei's circles, is basically a representation of a standard Energy core, right down to the rotation. I say 'standard' because Tear's is inverted and Dark's situs inversis means his technically _isn't_ , but it's still backwards. Anyway!" I leaned back and sighed. "From what I've been able to gather of the seal they used on Shadow and Rem, due to the elements assigned to each of the clans and the way they were all spaced—"

Jade made a slight sound of surprise. "Of course. Orothur, Nemari, Masaru, and Kenji were all evenly spaced around the cavern, but... wait."

"The Clan elemental alignments shifted over three thousand years," I said. "Remember what Orothur said? 'Who has _Yda's_ contract?'"

"Ydaer did. The Fende Head. Which means Ydaer started out light-elemental," Asch realized. "So..."

"Modified four-points circle to account for the presence of two extra elements. We'll have to account for two more than they did, but..."

"But we've got a method, and something to tie it into," Reighn noted. "Just one problem."

I sighed. Gods, I was starting to hate Reighn's pessimism...

"Guy's dead. Jozette Cecille is promised to Aslan Frings. Most of the rest of her family is either not qualified or likely dead in Baticul. Asch and Kairi are engaged—as an established Head, that means that leaves just Luke in line for Gardios. Jozette and Aslan will be all that's left of Cecille. Darigan's not much better with Danté dead and Din already abdicated—"

"On another world—"

"He may as well be dead," Reighn cut me off. "And I'm willing to bet that Gnome's been _targeting_ what's left of the Clans."

I crossed my arms and fixed Reighn with the stubbornest glare I had. "And who the hell said it had to be the same six Clans? Or did you miss the part where we're going to need _eight_?"

There was a long moment of silence, and then Sync made a motion like he was drawing a one in the air, on my side of the table.

Selenia, Myre, and Rialle busted up laughing, Jade was doing his damndest not to do the same, and Hue and Solace just looked outright amused.

Asch, who hadn't seen it, and Path, who didn't understand, looked baffled, and I couldn't help but snicker at their faces myself.

Reighn sighed. "Yeah. I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

I hummed. "Well. It could have been worse, I'm sure. At least now we've got the scroll."

"So... back to Eldrant?" Myre asked.

"Albiore," I reminded her, noting the gathering Energies.

"Oh. Right. That."

I snorted.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _This little scene here._

Sync: Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Legendia... what next, Tales of Graces?  
Kairi: Shush. Don't jinx it.  
Jade: Watch—we're already too late.

 _..._

 _Yup. Jade said it. The Tales of Graces stuff has been half-planned for over a year now._

 _The irony in this is that it's entirely his son's fault._


	73. Chapter 10-2 Part 73

_Here's another one... (Yeah, I really, REALLY don't want to go deal with Yggdrasill in TRB... Hooray for procrastinating on one thing by doing the thing you've been procrastinating on for a month and a half! O.o)_

* * *

" _Yeah, Danté's screwed, Ryndor." –Kairi_

 _Typical Reighn. Always somewhere between a pessimist and a busybody. –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.2 – The Beginning of the End  
Part 73**

I glanced around, making sure that everyone was here. It certainly looked like it to me...

Reighn, Aerith, Luke, Fallon, Path, Del, Hue, Solace, Tear, Florian...

I frowned and glanced around again.

We were still missing someone. I just _knew_ we were missing someone.

"Hello."

Cantabile spun around, and for once, Shadow reacted quickly enough to not get smacked in the face. He sighed once she realized who'd snuck up on her. "I wasn't even _trying_ to sneak up on anyone that time, dammit..."

I wasn't the only one giggling at that one.

"Hi. Where's Saphir?"

"Hiding in his lab, like a _wise_ man when you start gathering groups this large," Shadow retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "That's helpful. Oi!" Shadow stopped mid-step, then had to correct his balance.

"Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

Shadow glanced around. "Uh... hiding?"

"I think you're gonna want to stick around for this one."

He blinked at me, then glanced around, then shrugged. "Why not?"

I glanced over at Reighn, who sighed and stopped leaning against the pillar he'd claimed in favor of walking up toward the middle of the circle to join me. "So... Kade found something for us."

Dark was the first one to bite. "For sealing the sentiences, or just holding off Gnome long enough to find something?"

"Sealing," I replied. "Good news is, the method's already been proven, albeit with some slight modification, as Kade didn't really have Lorelei as a counterbalance four thousand years ago. Bad news is... It means that lovely Clans mess we thought we were going to be able to leave behind is... not as behind us as we'd like it to be."

There were a few distinct glances. Tear toward Reighn, Jade adjusting his glasses and looking over at me, Luke biting his lip and looking around, because Guy _wasn't here_.

Jozette Cecille grimaced. "I've returned to Baticul since the blizzard let up enough to go in... As the last of the House of Cecille, I'm really not sure this is a great idea."

I shrugged. "That's fine."

And now I was getting looked at like I was crazy.

Reighn sighed. "I tried to make the same argument, before Kairi brought up the obvious fact that I'd missed. We're going to need a grand total of eight Clans by the time we're done," he said. "And, yes, it would help if as many of the established Clans managed to carry over as possible, but..." he stopped and shrugged. "In the end, if one of the original six isn't involved, it's not going to matter much."

"Seven," Ryndor muttered, looking decidedly cross.

"Six," Dark corrected. "Though I'll have to talk to you later. The minute the Clans shit came up again I had Sylph take me to Tataroo Valley to check the Darigan roster. Miyagi's handed over the Head position. And, for information's sake, Danté is still very clearly listed. Along with a... Lloyd? So either the register's broken, or... Kairi knows something I don't."

I blinked a few times, considered the vague, unreadable name I'd seen on the register last time I'd been there, my developing relationship with Lloyd, and then realized exactly what was going on.

I snorted. "Yeah, Danté's screwed, Ryndor."

There was a pause, and then Ryndor busted up laughing, because at least he knew the significance behind the name 'Lloyd.'

The two of us shared a grin before I looked over at Dark. "It's not broken. Danté's adopted the brat as a surrogate nephew of sorts. Though, don't be surprised if the name vanishes off the register," I said. "Lloyd's already half-trying to make the transfer over to the Balfour one."

Reighn facepalmed. "I don't think I even _want_ to try to figure out how inter-planetary adoption works..."

Asch chuckled. "Well. Count on Kairi to find a way."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, back on task, people. Sentiences. Sealing. Clans, unfortunately."

A few snickers managed to get passed around, and then Reighn sighed. "So... As far as the original Clans went..." He glanced at Aerith, then at Tear. "I think Aerith, Tear, Luke, and I need to have a bit of a talk first, ourselves, before we decide what's going to happen with Aurelius, Fende, and Gardios. With Guy dead and Asch engaged to Kairi, that basically just leaves Luke as the last heir to Gardios."

"Not necessarily," Luke replied, fairly quickly. "Fallon's on the Gardios roster."

"Noted," Reighn muttered, giving Tear another glance. I hummed.

"Jade's already abdicated, so as acting Head of Balfour, I'm more than willing to throw us in."

"Same," Dark added. Natalia took his hand, and from the look the two shared, it was obvious neither of them was going to back down.

"So that puts Balfour and Darigan on the table for sure," Reighn murmured. "Fende as well, most likely. Between Tear, Florian, Solace, and I'm guessing our replica friend whose name I have yet to learn, Fende shouldn't be in too much danger of dying out."

Jozette glanced over her shoulder at Aslan, then turned back to the rest of us. "I will withdraw Cecille, then."

Reighn nodded, and continued to glance around, eyes hovering on the small congregation that was Sync, Myre, Selenia, Hue, and Path off to one side.

"You five look rather engrossed in that argument," I called.

Myre blinked, then shrugged. "Whatever. It's your call, boys. Leave me out of it."

"It does kinda affect you, too, you know," Selenia grumbled.

Myre bit her lip, but didn't reply.

"What's affecting who and why?" Reighn asked warily. Typical Reighn. Always somewhere between a pessimist and a busybody.

Sync looked up at Hue, who shrugged. Sync rolled his eyes and turned around. "Balfour, Darigan, and Fende makes three... With Mom marrying out and Nephry not in the direct line due to having married in, guess that makes me the Heir..." He stopped, took a deep breath, and I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. "Osborne will step up in Cecille's place."

Fitting. Sync was wind and _earth_ , and Selenia was earth and water.

"Are you sure you want to get involved with this? It's a big enough mess already," Jade asked.

Reighn sighed and looked over at me, as if expecting an argument. When he didn't find one, he raised an eyebrow at me, and I grunted. "Elemental alignments," I piped up. "Fende is typically dark-elemental; Tear's a bit of an odd duck and Florian and Solace are adopted. I'm not going to call Del adopted because the Clan register should have acknowledged him the minute he was created, thanks to Van's genetics." At this point, I had all eyes on me.

"Just like Darigan is light-elemental, and Balfour fire."

"Aurelius is water, Gardios wind... Cecille was earth. Selenia, who will more than likely be marrying into Osborne, unless something drastic happens—" Sync rolled his eyes at me. "—is earth-elemental, and while Sync's primary element is wind, he's fairly strong with earth as well, even before the incident with Gnome."

For some reason, Hue was looking a bit like he had something he wanted to say, and I sighed. "Dammit, Lieutenant. Spit it out!"

He jumped a bit, eyed me warily, then took a deep breath. "As far as elemental alignments go... I think Fende's probably going to end up holding the seal on a different sentience than Shadow."

I blinked a few times. "Oh?"

"Someone's gotta hold Lorelei's. And all four current members are seventh fonists."

"It's also rather fitting," Shadow piped up. "Yulia did seal Lorelei initially, before she married into the Fende Clan. Trapping him in the core was the only thing she could think of, but it held long enough for the rest of us to be freed."

"That said, that leaves us without a clan for Shadow. Or Kade, for that matter, assuming Aurelius and Gardios both join," Reighn said.

Kade nudged me in warning, and I sighed and took a half-step to the left, away from Reighn, giving Kade space to materialize.

"We... may have a slight problem."

I reached over and smacked him. " _Now_ what?"

"You're the Head of Balfour."

"Duh."

"You've already got my contract."

...

"Fuck."

A few people snickered. Most just groaned.

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Did you _have_ to say that with the exact same intonation you did the 'duh' that proceeded it?" he asked.

Reighn groaned, wandered back over to his pillar, and went back to leaning. Because apparently standing in the open wasn't working for him anymore. "Great. Sounds to me like we _all_ have problems to work out."

Hue sighed. "Before we decide to split for the day, I guess I should probably... Ugh..." He stopped shook his head, and looked over at me and Reighn, who was at least still fairly close. "Miles will step up for this responsibility as well."

I blinked a couple times, then realized why he'd brought up the thing with Fende and Shadow.

"I suppose that covers me again," Shadow grunted, realizing the same thing I had.

Reighn nodded. "Great. I say we adjourn for the day to work out the two major Clan messes. Which means the only people that _need_ to show up tomorrow are those directly involved."

Ryndor sighed and stepped up to stand next to Dark. "As the current head of what's left of Eliazin—"

"Before you finish that, I really think we need to talk," Dark cut in.

Reighn hummed. "You two do that. Ah... Tear, Aerith, Luke?"

Tear nodded sharply, her expression not giving anything away, and I sighed. "Seth, Jade, Asch, Flick, Cantabile. I'm going to go run some checks on the passage ring. I'll meet you five out at the tree Asch and I always seem to end up at in a little while."

"Any particular reason why Cantabile, Flick, and Asch are coming?"

"All three of them are on the register," I replied, already headed for the passage ring down below. I did need to double-check all of my different programs that I had running, and, well... Kade was curious as to where Sylph was, seeing as she was quite fond of hanging onto me during meetings like those.

I started opening up windows, paying no mind to the people walking past, though I noted that the people I'd told to meet me elsewhere later were hovering here instead.

Oh well. I guess that works.

"What's this?" Kade asked, pulling up my miasma tracker.

My miasma tracker with a rather blatant maroon dot right where Eldrant was. And fuzzy maroon kinda trailing all over the place, with a pretty solid bit down in the Inista Marsh.

I grimaced a bit. "I'm glad it's actually a lot thinner than that program makes it look," I muttered. "Put that away, I can't see."

Kade let it slide off to the side, revealing one of my passage ring notice boards underneath it.

Looked like the repairs were coming along nicely...

I shut the passage ring down after a bit and then turned around. "Well. I suppose here's as a good a place as any, since no one looks inclined to move."

Indeed, Cantabile and Asch were seated on the railing nearby, Jade had been watching over my shoulder, Flick appeared to be hanging over the railing by her knees, and Seth was, predictably, making sure she didn't fall on her head.

"So... Kade mentioned a problem," Jade started, giving the still-present 'sentience' in question an irritated look.

I nodded. "Yeah. Because there is a little bit of a problem... Fire affinities aren't that common. In fact, everyone on Auldrant with a strong enough fire affinity is either related to us, or already firmly in line for another Clan."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "I assumed we'd be taking Ifrit's seal again. Why is there a problem?"

Asch grimaced. "Oh. We're not allowed to hold two spirits, are we?"

Realization started to reach everyone, and Kade sighed. "Well... Technically, the Clan as a whole could have as many spirits contracted as it wanted. The problem is, Kairi, who is the Clan Head, already has my contract. She can't exactly hold Ifrit's as well, and with the way the sealing is set up..."

I sighed. "Even if we did end up doubling up, whoever is going to end up with Ifrit's contract would have to cover the fire part of the circle," I pointed out. "It's not like it's impossible, it's just... Gods I'm glad we all know each other."

Kade grunted. "I hate politics. And remember, Ifrit's involved in this as well."

"Wait, what do politics have to do with anything?" Seth asked, sounding baffled.

Jade groaned. "I think I can guess. If we go through with this, that means we'll have two spirits to the rest of the Clans' single spirit each. And _that_ is an imbalance of power, no matter how you look at it."

"Doesn't really help that we're one of the largest of the remaining Clans."

"I think you can safely say _largest_ , Kairi," Jade corrected me.

I shrugged. "Either way... As I said earlier, I'm glad we're all friends. That right there will eliminate a lot of the political mess, and..." I stopped and bit my lip, glancing between Jade and Asch, then to Seth. "I don't think right now would be the best time to do it. But... I think, eventually, I'm going to nominate _two_ heirs. One for Balfour... One for Fabre. We'll split the Clan, not this generation, but the next. That'll give enough time for most of this to settle, and will hopefully keep the seals intact."

There was a moment of silence, before Kade crossed his arms. "That was actually a fairly well-thought-through idea for something you came up with in what appeared to be seconds."

I sighed. "Jade said it. We're the largest Clan of the currently seven volunteering for this. And this guarding the seal slag isn't anything new to us, we've been dealing with the mess since Aerith first brought it up back in Daath, months ago. But Jade's abdicated, and honestly, I really don't think Seth wants to deal with this—"

"No kidding."

"—so option two, make sure _your_ seal gets passed to my and Asch's child, and then keep Ifrit's seal in either Jade's family or Seth's. That'll effectively split the Clan, but at least it'll work." I paused to sigh. "But _that_ means, Jade, Seth, one of you gets to take over the fire section of the seal."

Seth grimaced and glanced at Jade, who just sighed and shrugged. "Well. I managed to shove off the Clan Head position to you. Suppose the least I could do is cover up the hole."

"I don't think any of us _planned_ on Kairi being the agent of the miasma," Asch grumbled.

Kade smirked slightly, opened his mouth to say something, and got smacked by me for his efforts. "Shush, you."

Kade shot me a slightly exasperated look.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Um. To be honest. The whole 'Kairi's the Head of Balfour but holds Kade's contract' thing didn't even occur to me until I got to about this point. Headcanon had Kairi still the confirmed Head of Balfour seventeen years down the road in the Future Arcs._

 _Thankfully, Kairi thinks fast._


	74. Chapter 10-3 Part 74

_And I continue to procrastinate on writing the talking to Yggdrasill scenes. Yes. Procrastination for the win. (Especially for you guys, as you get updates.)_

* * *

" _I swear I walked,_ walked _, from that damn temple." –Shadow_

" _Well. If he was trying to drop the catnip in the middle of the cats, he succeeded." –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.3 – The Beginning of the End  
Part 74**

 **Dark's POV**

I pulled Ryndor all the way to Rhunön's lab, Natalia following along with an amused smile on her face, and Ryndor looking baffled.

Somehow, I wasn't all that surprised that Saphir was in here, too.

Rhunön glanced over her shoulder, sighed, and spun around in her chair, not acting at all like the near-forty-year-old woman she really was. "Yes, Dark? Is there any particular reason why you're dragging my brother around like that?"

"Yeah, actually, there is," I replied easily. "From what I've been able to figure out from Jade and Kairi, you two are the last descendants of Eruzaeyon, right?"

Ryndor sighed. "Yes. That was why I was trying to volunteer earlier to fill up that last space."

"Except Kairi's got Kade's contract, but the only family with a fire alignment strong enough is hers. You two are earth and light aligned."

"Sync's already stepped up for earth, and Dark has light covered," Natalia said, stopping and giving me a knowing look.

Gods, I loved her. She already knew _exactly_ what I was about to say.

I turned back to Ryndor and Rhunön. "You two know I've always seen you as family. The Darigan name honestly means nothing to me. Nothing good, anyway." Not considering the fact that it had damn near torn me away from Natalia.

"You're offering a Clan merger," Rhunön muttered, sounding surprised.

Ryndor looked just about as shocked when I nodded, and he looked over at Rhunön. "Can we even...?"

"We can now. The magic that bound us to the Council is gone, and the only reason we couldn't _actually_ adopt Danté and Dark before is because the Council magic would have killed them trying to nullify the connection to the seal."

"Ion was adopted by Van before we adopted him," Ryndor pointed out.

"Van was also convinced he was dead well before then, and Ion was never the Heir. That was always Tear," Rhunön replied. "Din abdicated when Danté was an infant. By the time Dark was created, Danté was very firmly rooted in the seal, at least until Miyagi named Dark the Heir. And on that note..."

I chuckled. "Miyagi's handed it off. He's still alive, but I think Undine's blizzard got to him."

"So that actually makes you the Clan Head, now," Rhunön mused. "Interesting... Well, there's no reason we can't. And I suppose it's fitting. Daemione isn't _that_ far off of Darigan. Darigan and Fende are the only two that hadn't really been warped by the years."

Well, that was a definite agreement on Rhunön's end... But, Rhunön wasn't the Clan Head. I looked over at Ryndor, who had his arms crossed and was giving me a considering look.

"You're keeping the Clan Head spot, right?" Ryndor asked. I nodded. I had every intention of doing so, at least. "Good. Then I'm certainly not complaining, though _someone_ might when we regroup tomorrow."

"Might complain about what?"

I jumped, then scowled at Shadow. "Stop doing that."

Shadow blinked a couple times. "I swear I walked, _walked_ , from that damn temple."

"Walk louder," Natalia groused.

Ryndor chuckled. "Good luck with that."

"So... what might people complain about?" Shadow asked again.

"Darigan and Eliazin are... consolidating, for lack of a better word," Saphir replied.

"Huh. Interesting. And Balfour's going to end up splitting at some point in the next thirty years."

I blinked a few times. "Wait... what?"

Shadow shrugged. "Kairi's the current Head of Balfour, which is a _fire_ -aligned Clan. Jade's going to stand in for the fire section of the seal, and either one of his children or one of Seth's will be named the Heir of Balfour. Kade's seal will be held by Kairi and passed to her child, who will be carrying the Fabre name. Fairly simple, and it solves both the general political problems that could crop up in the future if Balfour tried to keep both Ifrit and Kade, and the 'we're still short one Clan' problem for the sealing."

It took me a minute to think over it, but it made sense, really.

"So I guess that's it then. Eight Clans... Did Kairi ever make another copy of that scroll they found?" Ryndor asked. "Then again, I suppose that's really something _you_ ought to be asking," he added, giving me a look. I shrugged.

"Not yet. I don't think _anyone_ outside of the group that went with her to the Inista Archive knows anything," I admitted. "And even then, Jade and Reighn were probably the only two to actually read over the whole thing."

"Probably," Shadow agreed. "By the way, Dark. Kairi wanted to see that amulet as soon as possible. Something about Energies that I honestly didn't listen to."

I barely managed to hold back from rolling my eyes.

Count on Shadow...

Ifrit bounced in—and where the heck had he been, anyway?—with a grin that almost sent me running... except it wasn't that 'I'm about to drop a bucket of paint on your head' grin.

It was the 'I've got amazing news and you're going to want to hear it' grin.

"Someone's pleased with himself," Shadow said, chuckling.

"Kairi's makin' food. Ya want some, ya betta get movin'. Ah'll tell ya'll the good news afta!"

And then Ifrit was gone, and I had my arms crossed, even as I glanced around at everyone else. "Well. If he was trying to drop the catnip in the middle of the cats, he succeeded," I mused. "Saphir, Rhunön, you two coming?" Ryndor and Shadow were already headed out the door, after all...

"I think I'll pass, thank you," Rhunön replied, looking amused. "I'll be hearing all about it from Ryn later, anyway."

I snorted. "Yeah, he's already well on his way, isn't he?" I asked, pitching my voice to carry.

"Food!" Ryndor yelled back.

Which had the rest of us laughing, and I rolled my eyes. "Oh gods... I hope he never changes."

"Ha! Fat chance of that happening," Rhunön replied. "Well, get going. That food's not going to wait very long."

I glanced back at Saphir, who waved me and Natalia out, and I smiled a bit and walked out, right hand finding Natalia's left after a moment.

I waited until we were out of earshot to speak. "You know... I kinda hope Shadow doesn't mind his isofon marrying into the Clan guarding the seal on his opposite."

Natalia was silent for a moment. "You don't think they might actually..."

"Not immediately. But..." I stopped and sighed. "Rhunön's got skeletons in her closet. So does Saphir. And... She's older than Saphir and Jade by a few years, more than a decade older than Ryndor. She found out about and threw herself into replica research when Ryndor started taking solo missions, before they found Danté. She hides herself behind it, like Saphir always hid behind his mask as Dist."

Natalia hummed. "She does seem to enjoy her research, though."

"Yes, she does, but it doesn't completely rule her life anymore. I've seen her smile more in the last month than I had my entire life before then. And Saphir... He's stubbornly held by her side whether she necessarily wanted him there or not." I looked over at Natalia and smiled. "I think I'm gonna like the results."

There was a minute of silence as we walked, before Natalia sighed. "You know... Ifrit never said _where_ Kairi was."

I smirked and bothered to be a little more obvious about sniffing the air. "Follow the really good smell."

Natalia snorted. "Not everyone has your sharp senses, dear."

I grinned and wrapped an arm around her. "No, but really. Either follow the smells, or follow someone else. On that note, hey Sync."

Sync half-ran the last few steps to be walking next to me, and then shoved his hands in his pockets. "Did Ifrit say anything more than 'Kairi has food, I've got news for everyone after' to you two?"

Natalia giggled. "Nope."

I sighed. "A whole big group of cats, the lot of us, and there's Ifrit, just dangling catnip at us..."

Sync started snickering. "Well... We do keep telling Jade and Kairi that curiosity killed the cat, and they're still kicking, so..."

"Obviously curiosity's doing a really horrible job," I replied.

"Of course it is. It wasn't exactly _trained_ to kill cats. Little buggards are a pain in the butt to even get ahold of, let alone kill."

"Hm, now let's see, who do we know that's like that...?" I glanced down at Natalia, then at Sync, and Natalia laughed.

"Every last one of us?" Natalia offered. "I mean, come on. Gnome might have gotten Sync for a while there, but even if he hadn't thrown him off himself, I know Kairi was very certain she could have pulled him free herself."

I smirked, one arm around Natalia's waist and the other thrown over Sync's shoulder. "Big lot of cats. Much as I may joke about it, it's a good thing, really."

We got to the open space where Kairi was cooking, and really, it wasn't just Kairi. Kairi, Asch, Jade, Myre, Selenia, and of all people, _Cantabile_ were in the middle of prepping one hell of a lot of food, and I smiled.

"Been a while since we've had this many people in a single area just to make a meal, huh?" I asked.

Kairi glanced up from whatever pasta concoction she'd cooked up this time—and damn did that woman have the magic touch with pasta—smirked, and went back to stirring. "I figured we were all overdue a meal together, and then Ifrit showed up just as I was getting started, and said he had news, so he basically volunteered to go get everyone."

Ryndor was kneeling over by the spring off to one side, and I raised an eyebrow. "Did he get banished over there or is he playing with the glowing water again?"

Jade chuckled. "A little bit of both," he admitted. "Alright, curry's done."

"Pasta's done," Kairi replied. "Asch, Cantabile?"

"Still cooking," Asch grunted back.

"It'll be a bit yet," Cantabile added. Looked like the two of them had the meat covered, or were working on it...

And Selenia had what was probably the biggest mixing bowl I'd ever seen and had it full of chopped lettuce and was working on carrot slices now.

I let my arms drop and looked over at Myre, who was working on what looked like a makeshift grill making grilled vegetables. "So... anything I can help with?" I asked.

"Not at this point, unfortunately," Kairi replied, lifting the massive pot of pasta and setting it on a rock away from the fire it had been cooking on. A quick, down-sized Splash put out both her fire and Jade's, even as the man lifted his own pot. He shot her a look, and she shrugged back nonchalantly, which got me and Sync snickering.

We didn't have to wait much longer before the others all started filtering in, and when Ifrit bounced—yes, _bounced_ —back into the clearing, it basically became food time.

A few more people wandered in as the rest of us were getting our food and settling into different spots around the clearing. Kairi and Asch had claimed the tree— _their_ tree, and if they tried to argue it, I was going to smack the both of them—and the rest of us were just scattered around mostly.

Ifrit had a little bit of everything on his plate, and had apparently decided to come sit over by me and Natalia, and as I glanced around, I couldn't help but be amused.

Almost everyone who'd been up on the temple earlier was now sitting around a rather large fire, though why it was there, I wasn't sure, nor did I especially care, and it was plenty loud from all the chatting going on.

There was an odd cracking sound, and Ifrit suddenly froze, blinked a few times, and then had left his food right where he'd been sitting.

"What was that?" Reighn asked.

Ifrit chuckled. "Hehe... looks like mah surprise ain't gonna wait for ya'll ta finish eatin'," he replied, reaching into the fire and shifting a couple of logs.

There was another cracking sound, and Ifrit pulled something out from underneath the fire that I guessed he'd built.

And the minute the roundish, black thing came into view, I got the feeling I knew what he'd buried in the fire earlier.

"Is that an _egg_?" Selenia asked, sounding incredulous.

Kairi had a knowing smile on her face. "It's one of the other two, Ifrit."

He paused, ran his hands over the egg—because it was very definitely an egg—and then reached back into the fire. "Ah ha! There ya are. Co'mere..."

This one, once pulled out, had a very definite crack in it.

I barely even noticed as Ifrit slipped the first egg back into the fire, because the crack was moving, like the thing inside the egg was trying to just push the whole thing apart. And really, that was basically the point behind hatching, wasn't it?

Ifrit sat there for a moment before scooting back far enough to grab his plate to keep eating while the egg hatched.

"Did you find the others?" Shadow asked after a moment.

Ifrit nodded. "Ah think ah found 'em all. These'uns 're the closest ta hatchin', though, so..." He stopped and shrugged.

"Should have been a total of about a hundred."

There was a pause as everyone either looked at Ifrit, Shadow, or in a couple cases, a very amused Kairi.

I was watching Kairi, so I sort of missed it when the loudest _crack!_ yet rang out.

By the time my eyes got back to the fire, Ifrit, and the egg between him and the fire, the eggshell was in pieces, and there was something very _familiar_ sprawled out on the ground, looking utterly befuddled, like the tiny dragonet—not even half the size the one we'd seen Sylph racing in Shadow's memories—didn't have a clue how it had ended up spread-eagled on the ground in the middle of a bunch of humans.

...Well. I guess the second half of that was to be expected, but still...

"Aw... It's so cute..." Anise crooned, food forgotten. Not that there was much left on her plate, but what was left was forgotten.

Ifrit chuckled. "Yup. They are pretty cute when they're this young."

Kairi hummed, then froze, eyes going from a spot over Shadow's shoulder to the little dragonet.

There was a moment's silence, and Ifrit looked over at her after a moment.

"Kairi?"

She smiled. "Her name's Endrea."

There was a moment's pause, and then Shadow chuckled. "Of course. Hatchlings can't use their telepathy yet, but the adults always knew the hatchlings' names. If the adults usually initiated the contact..." he trailed off and gave Ifrit an amused look.

The man was practically bouncing. "Ah got the fire, she got the telepathy."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Happy Ifrit is a happy Ifrit. And for information's sake... Shadow said he rescued about a hundred? Ifrit's only found about thirty._

 _He's got some serious work to do still._


	75. Chapter 10-4 Part 75

_Speaking as the author, I feel like this chapter's name is a misnomer. A very, serious misnomer. Like, yeah! Beginning of the end! But then Kairi's all 'oh, but don't forget about the other 60k words that you still need to write.'_

 _I hate her. I hate her with a passion._

 _I'm not sure. I might continue to procrastinate on Yggdrasill by updating, or I might manage to procrastinate by writing on AEtT. Either way... Procrastination for the win!_

* * *

" _Turn around and snap at... oh, fuck." –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.4 – The Beginning of the End  
Part 75**

There weren't as many of us who met up on the Temple the next morning.

Myre, who stubbornly insisted on showing up just to be sure that her timeline wouldn't somehow end up repeated. I couldn't blame her for this, really.

Sync and Hue, who were both here as they'd volunteered to join the whole Clans mess.

Myself, Jade, and Asch, who was there to 'make sure I didn't overdo it.'

Luke, Tear, Solace, and Reighn. I wasn't sure why Solace was there, but everyone over there looked much happier than they had when we'd left yesterday.

And Dark and Ryndor. Ryndor was just standing off to the side a ways, trying to look as uninvolved as possible.

Well, and Kade, who was looking like he'd swallowed something sour. I knew why, and gave him a look before making good use of my telepathy. *You want me to tell them?*

*I'll do it. Once we figure out what's going on.*

I nodded and turned to Reighn, who shook his head. "I am not taking over this madness."

I scowled at him, crossed my arms, and then finally just rolled my eyes. "Alright. Fine." Because apparently _someone_ had to play leader, and Reighn was being a lazy-ass. "I'm fairly certain we left yesterday with three obvious problems, or pseudo-problems, at least. Dark, Ryndor, why don't you two start?"

Dark glanced at Ryndor, who smiled just slightly, then shrugged and turned to face the rest of us. "Darigan and Eliazin have consolidated."

Reighn blinked a few times. "That's not causing problems? I mean, I'm not exactly the best genealogist in the world, but I know that bad things tend to happen when Clan members get involved with Eliazin... No offense meant, Ryndor."

I smiled. "It wouldn't matter at this point. That would have been a case of conflicting magicks. The Clans were bound to protect the seals, Ryndor's family was bound to destroy them. So if the magicks came in contact, yes, they kinda didn't want to cooperate. But with the seals gone, so are the two types of magicks."

"I'm glad someone understands all this," Jade muttered.

I elbowed him and then turned back to Dark. "I take it Darigan finally gave up on holding onto the old Clan name as well."

Dark snorted. "Was that even a question?"

"Nope," I chirped back as cheerfully as I could manage. Which, when I was in a mood like the one I was in then, was fairly cheerfully. "And even if that puts us short one of the original Clans... Balfour's going to be splitting in a couple decades, anyway, so it won't hurt anything in the long run."

Dark didn't look surprised. Nor did Ryndor.

Everyone else, with the obvious exceptions of Jade, Asch, and Kade, looked baffled.

"Split?" Hue asked.

Reighn frowned. "Are you sure?"

I shrugged. "Our family's fire-elemental, but I've already got Kade's contract. That's why Jade's here. I've got Kade's section of the seal covered, and guarding that seal will get passed down to _my_ kids. Jade will take Ifrit's seal for now, and either one of his kids or one of Seth's will become the next Head of Balfour."

"Naming two Heirs... That'll do the trick," Reighn mused.

I shot him a not-quite-scowl. "Your turn now."

Reighn sighed. "Alright. So..." He looked over at Tear. "Honestly, nothing's really changed. I'm the Head of Aurelius, Tear's the Head of Fende, and as Guy's Heir, that leaves Luke in charge of Gardios."

Tear hummed. "The problem, as it was, was really a case of... well. Reighn and I agreed to at least attempt a relationship back during the Blue Lights Festival, only for this to come up again. We've agreed, though, that should something actually work out and I marry into Aurelius, Solace will take over as Fende's Clan Head."

Which, I noted, left Aerith free to marry Luke if she wanted.

I hummed. "Good. And now I have some bad news."

Everyone gave me a sour look, and I jabbed a thumb in Kade's direction. "He's still technically sealed. We can't seal him as the counterbalance to Lorelei unless we break the original seal first."

There was a moment's silence, before Asch sighed. "Okay. What do we need to do?"

"Basically a reverse of the Energy conduit we'll need for sealing everyone, except notably _not_ including the light or shadow two. So Dark, Hue, you two get to sit this fight out."

There was a moment of silence.

"Fight?" Tear asked, apparently being the first to muster up the courage to question my wording.

Kade grimaced. "If you pull on a liger's tail, _hard_ , what's it's instinctive reaction?"

"Turn around and snap at... oh, _fuck_."

There were a few snickers at the way Dark had cut off there.

Reighn groaned. "Please tell me this isn't going to be a regulated-to-four fight?"

"Six," Kade replied. "Because the only people who will be able to get inside the Energy dome will be the six who release the seal."

"Which will be me, Tear, Reighn, Luke, Jade, and Sync," I added. "Like I said, no light or darkness."

"So... I get the feeling it's not going to be the same arrangement as for the sealing?" Reighn asked. I nodded.

"North will be Jade, you'll be south. East is Sync, west is Luke, Tear, you'll be south of Reighn, and sadly, I'm stuck damn near in the middle of everything," I replied.

Kade shrugged. "Better you than anyone else. At least you can't be harmed by the miasma... more than you already have been, at least," he added a bit annoyedly. I nodded, and sighed.

"Well. Any questions? I know I handed out the information last night, but..." I stopped and gave Luke a pointed glare, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Some people have been bugging me and Asch for clarification."

And, to be fair, it wasn't just Luke. Dark had asked about one thing, and Hue a lot of things, and then Reighn had pulled me aside...

"Are we going to need fonons or Energies?" Tear asked.

"Energies," I replied easily. "In this case, almost purely wind. Anything non-wind, I can throw into the mix to balance it all out, since I know a lot of us aren't really used to working with Energies."

"Given the flowchart you gave us, I assume..." Jade started.

"Reverse direction. Water to _wind_ , not to earth. That said, the Energy flow will still be moving from the center to _outside_ the four-points circle. So that's still fairly simple," I replied.

"So... I guess the only way we're going to get this really figured out at this point is to actually do it..." Sync said. "We know the chart, we know where we need to be, and you've apparently got the finer details handled..."

I nodded. "Yes. So." I looked over at Kade. "You sure you're ready?"

He grunted. "As I'm going to be. Oh, and as a bit of forewarning. If anyone has one of the weapons I forged as their default, better change it _now_."

Reighn tapped the staff slung across his back. "I carry both my old scythe and Gold Wisteria for a reason."

Sync scowled. "I still haven't gotten the Black Rose daggers back."

"Rialle has them," Dark said.

Jade held out an arm, summoned Gungnir, grimaced, and pulled out his wing pack. "I hope I still have one of the old ones. Otherwise I might be in a bit of trouble..."

"If you don't have one, I've got two stashed in my wing pack," Asch said, the casual tone to his voice betraying absolutely nothing, even though everyone was looking at him incredulously. I smiled a bit to myself. That was Asch. Always armed with _something_. "Are you going to be taking Ultimatus back?" he asked a moment later.

Kade nodded. "Probably. Not going to swear by it either way."

I hummed and made sure I had my regular katana on my, and then looked around. Tear had the staff from Yda...

It looked like we were all ready.

Sync found east rather quickly—it was still early morning, so it was simply a matter of him putting his back to the sun—and Luke stood across from him, the Sword of Lorelei in his hand... which was a bit odd, as I distinctly remembered _Lorelei_ having that...

Luke noticed me giving him a look, and shrugged. "What? We can pass the sword and jewel around through our fonslots too, as needed. Though Asch kinda avoids both."

Well, that was news to me...

I glanced back at Asch, who was scowling. "Can't quite tolerate the miasma. Can't quite tolerate mass amounts of seventh fonons anymore. Between you and Lorelei, I've basically gotten myself screwed over, haven't I?" he grumbled, giving Kade the evil eye.

Kade gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'm not the one who thought Ultimatus was a good match for you. Though, admittedly, Kairi was right."

Reighn took his place, and I settled into a space just south of the halfway mark between Reighn and Jade. Kade took the very center of the circle, and Tear stood past Reighn, exactly the same distance out as I had been.

The others retreated a ways, and I glanced around. Everyone was ready in case Kade lost his ability to reason temporarily, so...

I took up a casting stance. It wasn't necessary, but it made things easier...

Wind, mostly. But also moon, and sun, and just a little bit of water. The Energy flow moved, shifted around me, and I reached out with telepathy, helping to coordinate everyone.

Once the Energies had built up, I directed the four at the cardinal directions to shift the Energy flow inward.

I shoved right back against the onslaught of Energies, pulling, twisting, and then pushing.

I felt the seal give way, just seconds before miasma erupted out of the space where Kade had been.

More than enough miasma to kill all six of us...

If I hadn't been immune, and capable of pulling every last bit of it into my body.

Ooh... not that that was a good idea.

I swayed a bit on my feet, even as the typical barrier formed up and Kade, back in skeletal form, roared.

The miasma was poison, was the building block Kade used to forge his weapons, was _instinct_.

It was the perfect counter to Lorelei's seventh fonon, the counter to his healing, his destructive hyperresonance, his power over _memory_.

I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and raced forward with my katana in hand.

Ultimatus, in its full form, was in Kade's right two hands. Two thinner swords were in his left hands.

This was not going to be an easy battle. I knew that, and still I charged straight in, because not doing so meant leaving all of the fonists at a distinct disadvantage.

Sync was already casting, Luke was running in to help, and Jade, Tear, and Reighn were casting as well.

I spun around into a Guardian's Pain, not that it did a whole lot of damage against Kade. I knew this was going to be a difficult battle, even if it was just a case of trying to wear him out. Something we were more than capable of doing... at least, when his power was mostly sealed off.

It was probably a good thing that Tear was sticking to fonic hymns and her light-elemental artes, while Reighn and Jade dealt with the healing.

Luke suddenly backed off and made a few hand signs, and I smirked and signaled back, then stepped back myself. "Get clear!"

Sync leapt back, then turned and raced away, and Luke raced _in_.

It'd been a while since we'd really used Mystic Artes in battle. But given that Luke's Mystic Arte was a hyperresonance...

The shockwave was stronger than usual, but I managed to brace myself against it, and smiled a bit to myself as Luke yelled.

"You're mine!"

I pulled in fonons, subtly shifted the fifth fonons through to Æther, and as Luke's Radiant Howl ended, I pulled on it, and the Æther erupted around me, visible on the first plane for the first time since Myre had returned to the past.

She'd said pure, elemental Æther erupted in a colored cloud.

From the red Æther now swirling around me, I could believe it easily.

I drew the fonic glyph in my mind's eye, even as I chanted the familiar verse. "Eternal Faith... Sorcerer's Rage!"

It was strong. So, so much stronger than it typically was, and I could still feel Kade on the other side of the connection.

The moment the arte was over, the barrier shattered, and I ran to take Tear's place. "Move it! We need to seal him again quickly!" I yelled.

It didn't take the others long to get into place, with Hue and Dark to either side of me, and I drew another glyph with my mind. Except, this wasn't really a glyph. It was an Energy Circle. One that I knew quite well, having studied the damn thing so carefully...

"Your element in fonon, earth and sun Energies," I called as a reminder. It looked like everyone remembered. This time wasn't just releasing a seal.

We'd all need our own element to act as a buffer, even with me pulling on the miasma Kade was releasing as a defense mechanism.

The Energy Circle formed beneath our feet, glowing to connect all of us, a side-product of my ability to mentally picture it and the sun Energies.

And then it activated, and I felt the seventh fonons around Tear getting sucked in more.

I didn't have to prompt anyone. All of the seventh fonists—which was everyone except me and Hue, really—were pulling in more seven fonons, and Tear was able to re-build her shield.

It was over in under a minute, and Kade had collapsed to one knee, held up only by Ultimatus.

I stepped forward, walking up to him and placing my hands against his bared ribcage. Kade was exhausted, and confused, and desperately needed to rest.

I shoved all of the miasma I'd pulled in toward him, and he drew it into himself before bursting into a small cloud of miasma. This got pulled right back into me, but it still left my levels much, much lower than they had been.

Ultimatus shrank back down to human-sized, and Asch stepped forward, holding onto the hilt for a moment before pulling it out of the ground and putting it on his back right where it had been before. He glanced at me, and I took a deep breath, still feeling a bit woozy from absorbing that much miasma that quickly.

"Well. That escalated quickly."

I turned and scowled at Shadow. "When did you get here?"

"About the same time you broke the original seal," Shadow replied. "Does this mean it's my turn?"

I growled, and swayed. "Maybe not immediately."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So, V01dSw0rd was asking me things, and the relationship between Lorelei and Kade came up. Partial credit to him for this set of lines:_

The miasma was poison, was the building block Kade used to forge his weapons, was _instinct_.

It was the perfect counter to Lorelei's seventh fonon, the counter to his healing, his destructive hyperresonance, his power over _memory_.

 _I originally had the two as Life and Death, but V01d brought up a good point, that Memory and Instinct were a better fit. Hence the slight change._


	76. Chapter 10-5 Part 76

_O.o_

 _So. I had 77 all ready to post, but not 76._

 _I need shot._

 _Anyway, enjoy._

 _(Edit from 7 hours later: Wow. I went crazy editing today. Have fun, folks! I'll post 4 tonight and the rest... er... later. (All ready to post up through 86 now...))_

* * *

" _Please tell me you're not pregnant too." –Jade_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.5 – The Beginning of the End  
Part 76**

I was throwing up. Not exactly a good sign, but, well...

I'd checked my body over on the second plane. Aside from still-massive levels of miasma, I was fine.

I'd done a lot of expelling the miasma, too. To the point where Asch and I had simply sat there, me forcing the miasma out of my body, and him using hyperresonance to break it down. And we'd done that for almost an hour before we'd had to quit because Asch was exhausted.

I managed to hold my stomach down, got to my feet, and headed out, looking for something to eat. Better to have something in my stomach if it decided to empty itself again.

"Kairi?"

I stopped, turned, damn near fell over, and caught the doorframe. "Yeah?" What did Jade want now...

"Please tell me you're not pregnant too."

I damn near choked, then shook my head. "No, I'm just... I'm fighting off dizzy spells because... Well. You know that feeling you get when you eat way too much, because it tastes good and you eat so quickly your body doesn't realize its full until it's _over-_ full?" I asked. Jade nodded. "That's... That's kinda how I'm feeling, except unleashing the amount of miasma currently in my body would probably be enough to make anyone in the immediate area sick. And I _don't_ want to do that."

"That much... For it to be that dense, it would have to be a good ten times the density of..." Jade stopped, something just short of horror starting to take over his features. I nodded.

"Asch and I are working on it, but..."

"Did you ask Lorelei or Luke to help?"

"Luke's not great with the fine stuff, and this requires a bit more finesse than he has. And Lorelei's been busy."

"We were planning to try sealing a few more of the sentiences today. If you can't stand straight for that, we're in trouble. I think Lorelei will understand."

I nodded. That was what it was quickly coming down to.

"If you can find Asch or Luke, have them contact him," I replied. I tried to walk, and it took Jade wrapping an arm around my shoulders to keep me from stumbling. "Or... we can just head for the temple and I can sit down."

"Temple first," Jade replied. I didn't nod. That would have just made this worse.

Once Jade got me settled in against a column, he left, headed out to find Asch and Luke. I'd have tried to contact them via telepathy, but doing that would expand my awareness and make me even more dizzy than I already was.

Dark was the first one to join me, and he gave me a worried look. "You look like you had way too much to drink, and your body's feeling the effects, but your mind isn't."

I snorted. "That's a good way to put it," I told him. And it was, really. Oh, oh dear...

I managed to force down the wave of nausea, and it wasn't too much longer before a hyperresonance deposited Lorelei, who, from the expression on his face, had already been told what was going on.

"Asch should have said something sooner," he grumbled a bit, kneeling in front of me. I hummed.

"We thought we had it covered, but..." I shifted, and damn near fell over.

"It's getting worse. Here, I want to try something," Lorelei started. "I think... which Energy circle do you always use for grounding and support?"

I started rifling around in my bag. "Journal... Journal..."

Lorelei helped, finding the right notebook.

"Toward the back, where all the circles are." He flipped to the right section. I managed to sit up long enough to flip through pages to the right one. I pointed at it. "That, in either white or blue, typically. What are you... ung..."

"I'm gonna try to form up a bit of a dome around you. I'm just not sure how long I can hold it, and..." Lorelei shrugged. "I really don't want to hurt you."

Kade shifted a bit, but stopped the second it sent another wave of nausea through me. I made a motion for Lorelei to flip through pages, and he did so until I stopped him and pointed to another circle.

"There, that. Blue inside, white outside."

Lorelei nodded, then frowned. "Does it have to be colored? And which order do they have to be done in?"

"Inner, then outer. The colors help some. I can... ugh. I can probably help to focus it properly if there's no color. Why?"

He gave me a bit of an amused look, and placed his hands on the ground, careful to move my journal out of the way, though his eyes remained locked on the first circle.

A very small, very focused hyperresonance formed, seeming to wash out away from his hands, carving small, perhaps millimeter-deep lines in the stone under me. Once the first was formed, it took him bare seconds to flip back to the other circle.

I smiled a bit as the second circle formed up. "Handy..."

Lorelei chuckled a bit. "It helps that this is, quite literally, a part of me. It's not like we really have any use for fonic glyphs when all we need to manipulate _our_ fonon is a thought. But this... this is something that, while I can control it..."

"You're not sure how long you can hold it before it tries to eliminate _all_ of the miasma in the area, and since there's a _lot_ in my body..."

Lorelei nodded. "That about sums it up. Did I miss anything?"

I looked over the circle, and smiled a bit. "Perfect copy from my journal to the ground. Good... Ooh stop doing that..."

Lorelei chuckled a bit. "Ready?"

I nodded, and wasn't all that surprised when a faint glowing dome surrounded me. I closed my eyes, dug into the massive reserves of miasma, and forced it out, not looking at the cloud that was probably surrounding me. I didn't force it all out at once, that likely would have been enough to cancel out Lorelei's hyperresonance, and that would defeat the entire purpose of this.

It took me almost twenty minutes of constant expulsion to finally dip down into levels I was more used to, and I dared to reach out with the telepathy finally.

*You holding up?* I asked, gently nudging Lorelei.

*Ugh... Yeah... Grateful for the circle,* he replied. *How much...?*

*Hit the top edge of what I usually think of as my normal range. Just a little bit, don't want to be on that top edge,* I replied before reaching further. Dark, and there was Jade and Asch, Luke was there too...

None of the other Clan Heads.

I took a deep breath, and with the next exhalation, I forced out half of the remaining miasma, and sent my telepathic field rolling outward, seeking Reighn, Tear, Sync, and Hue.

Finding them was easy. Giving them a very firm mental nudge toward the temple was also easy, and the nice thing about this was that they understood it without too many problems. They were used to me communicating more through images and feelings, and less through words.

It was something I'd gotten used to while working with Twilight, and something they'd gotten used to while dealing with me. It was faster than words, really.

The miasma I wanted out of my body was out, but it was clinging, trying to be reabsorbed instead of simply being destroyed by Lorelei's hyperresonance, and I shoved at it, Kade stepping up to help just a bit.

Once it was gone, I nodded, and the slight ringing sound from the hyperresonance faded. I opened my eyes and noted that Lorelei looked tired. "Well... That would definitely explain why you weren't just letting it out like you have a habit of doing when it goes over a certain point," he muttered.

I grimaced. "Dare I ask just how _much_ Kade pulled up to try to kill us so he wouldn't get hurt?"

"Enough to kill you," Lorelei replied. "The miasma... usually, it's thin. Really, really thin. It takes a lot of it inhaled over a long period of time to kill you... until you get a certain amount shoved into your body all at once. And that... He put out enough to kill the six of you, plus the bystanders, twice over. At _least_."

I winced, because I'd have sworn Asch and I had gotten rid of almost a fourth of it over the last few days...

I sighed, and stood. "Well. Nothing that can really be done about it now other than what's already done. Let's just hope that what we're about to do isn't going to come back to bite me in the ass as well, because then I'm gonna be pissed."

"At least you _sound_ better now," Jade muttered. "So, now what nonsense are you about to get yourself into?"

"Sealing, apparently," Reighn replied, joining us at the top of the temple. Lorelei went stiff, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax. Kade would be telling you to do so, but he's still exhausted, and that was from the original seal breaking and the hyperresonance Luke unleashed on him afterward," I said. "It'll be fine..."

I stopped and turned my attention inward for a moment, then smirked.

A moment later, Kade simply stepped out of my back, using the remaining miasma in my body as a focal point. He didn't look much better than I'd felt an hour ago, but at least he was up and about.

"Ooh, that was a bad idea..." he muttered, bracing himself against the column I'd been sitting against.

"Go back to sleep, buggard," I grumbled, pushing him lightly enough he shouldn't have done more than shifted a bit.

He swayed, shot me a sour look, and steadied himself.

Lorelei sighed. "I knew I wasn't going to get to avoid it forever..."

I held out a hand, since he was still kneeling. "Come on, kiddo." Tear and Sync were here now, and I could feel Hue coming up quickly.

Lorelei had spent most of his life trapped in the core, subjected to the miasma, his opposite, just as all the other sentiences had been trapped... Except, he hadn't had thousands of years of life before that. A few hundred, at most. So even though Shadow and Ifrit and Sylph were okay with being sealed again, and Kade was also willing, Lorelei was _scared_.

Which was part of why I was keeping a hand on his shoulder until I _had_ to move into position.

That faint grateful look that Asch shot me so often when he caught the little things... That made it all worth it, and I nodded to him before taking my place.

Lorelei, and then we'd have to seal the other three sentiences that were on our side. Which would include tracking Ifrit down again, as he was in Mt. Zaleho, raising the little dragonets that Shadow had managed to save.

I stepped into place, and noted the Energies already starting to gather up. Looked like everyone wanted to just get this over with as quickly as we could.

And really, I couldn't blame them.

Tear had needed to pull in extra seventh fonons to seal Kade, so I pulled up every bit of the miasma I could reach in the area. Kade helped a bit, and I had nearly twice the amount of miasma I'd needed for sealing him.

I needed it, though, because the seal pulled on it, wrapped it around Lorelei's Energy Core, and then bound it to Tear just as the seventh fonons had bound Kade to me.

Lorelei hissed, but made no other sounds of pain.

The moment the Energy lines around our feet faded, he fell to his knees, fighting to keep his breath steady. I grimaced. Too much miasma. I could see that even from here. But did I dare...?

Kade moved before I could, crouching in front of Lorelei and pulling the excess back out, even as I continued to frown.

The seal had only pulled as many seventh fonons as it had _needed_ for sealing Kade. So why did it pull way too much for Lorelei?

"Because I'm the elder half."

Everyone looked at Kade, looked at me, looked at Kade again, and then decided that giving _me_ the stink eye was the right thing to do.

I face-palmed. "Kade. Get out of my head," I deadpanned.

There were a couple of snorts, but Jade was adjusting his glasses. "What does age have to do with anything?"

I crossed my arms. "It means Kade's a lot stronger than Lorelei. Ergo, less miasma _needed_ to seal Lorelei than we needed seventh fonons to seal Kade. But since we sealed Kade first, the Energy circle, recognizing the use it was being put to, pulled in the same amount of miasma as we used seventh fonons."

There were a couple worried looks. "What does that mean for the others?" Tear asked.

"It means very little, really," Shadow said, announcing his presence to the rest of the group. "The rest of us all came into being within a few centuries of each other. On the other hand, Kade is _thousands_ of years older than _I_ am, and Lorelei thousands of years _younger_." He turned to look at me. "Is it going to reset with each set, or is it just going to pull the amount Kade needed?"

I shook my head. "I won't know for sure until we seal someone else, and we have to let Tear's half of the seal we just made settle before we can do that."

Shadow hummed. "Either way, if it's the latter, it shouldn't do more than sting for a while for the rest of us. The excess fonons _should_ just float off on their own after a while, right?"

I nodded. "Yes." And on that note... I walked over to Lorelei. "You gonna be alright?"

Lorelei looked about ready to start in on a rant before he paused, gave me that look I'd gotten oh-so-often from Luke when we'd been travelling with Van and Zion, and then offered up a small smile. "Will be, yeah."

I smiled, nodded, and stood, offering a hand to help him back to his feet.

"So, I guess this means we'll be up here again in a couple days?" Reighn asked.

I shrugged. "Anywhere with a good thirty-foot diameter space should be fine. Just as long as no one extra is in the middle of the circle."

"You know we're going to have to wear Gnome, Undine, and Rem down before we'll be able to seal them, right?" Tear asked. I nodded.

"Rem should be easy. She's weak on the first plane. Gnome's harder... But Undine's been _avoiding_ us, and I don't think she'd fall for Ifrit calling her like Shadow did Rem."

Everybody else groaned.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So while it doesn't really_ hurt _Kairi anymore, the miasma still leaves her sick in excessive amounts. Though, credit where credit is due. If Kairi had released all of that miasma in one burst, she'd have killed everyone on the roof, either immediately or within a week or so._


	77. Chapter 10-6 Part 77

_So this was ready, but the previous chapter wasn't. How did I manage that? O.o  
_

* * *

" _Obvious answers. Why do I keep missing these things?" –Reighn_

* * *

 **Chapter 10.6 – The Beginning of the End  
Part 77**

There were three of us, that I could feel. All moving in a triangle, cutting through the monsters like a hot knife through butter.

Kade, Asch and I were sticking together. Of the three of us, Asch had the most situational awareness, so he actually led the way to wherever we needed to be and Kade and I followed.

We kept to our triangle. Because big battles like these were fun to our rather less-than-sane minds, but we knew we needed to follow Asch, at least. And that was the only thing that kept us together.

It amused me to realize that Asch really was the best and only choice for herding me anywhere when I was like this.

We'd been at this for two days already. Belkend, this time, not St. Binah or Engeve.

Sync was in St. Binah with Selenia. Myre was in the Meggiora Highlands, checking up on the citizens of Sheridan. Rialle was in Daath. We couldn't exactly unleash a Seasons' Rage on the battlefield, so we were doing the next best thing, and letting me and Kade have at it.

Even in a human body, he was just as deadly as I was.

Asch had Ultimatus. I had Silver Clematis and Phaïe's Song. Kade had a twin pair of swords with black blades. All three of us were doing massive amounts of damage to the monster numbers...

But it looked like Gnome had learned his lesson. He had to send many, many more monsters than he'd been trying to send. I had to wonder how long this army had been gathering. We hadn't noticed anything, but then, I hadn't had Saphir watching the Energy tracker on the passage ring.

It took a grand total of five days to kill all the monsters, in the end. Asch would keep the three of us out there for an hour at a time, take us back into the city for two, and then we'd go out again.

When it was all over, I found myself in a room in the governor's mansion with Asch, Duke Fabre, and an utterly exhausted Hue.

"How the hell do you people do that...?" Hue muttered. I grimaced, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Honestly... too much practice. Which is _not_ something I like saying," I replied. Asch shot me a half-assed glare, but didn't actually speak.

Crimson sighed. "I wish this hadn't been necessary at all, but... Have we figured out how to end it, at least?"

Asch nodded. "Yes. We've already sealed the sentiences we have access to," he replied. "Kade, Lorelei, Shadow, Sylph, and Ifrit."

"Kade?"

"The Sword Dancer," I clarified. "The miasma isn't a fonon, but if you're willing to really try, it can be manipulated almost like fonons. The Sword Dancer is a physical manifestation of miasma, the first sentience, so to speak. Kade balances Lorelei fairly well, at least."

"We have to catch Gnome, Rem, and Undine, and keep them in place long enough to seal them, but at least we've got the method, and over half of the sentiences sealed already," Asch added. "And it won't result in our descendants having to re-create the Planet Storm a thousand years down the road like the people in the Dawn Age had to do after the Clans originally sealed the six away a millennium before that."

Crimson nodded. "I'm glad of that, at least. Though I thought _you_ were under orders to avoid miasma?" he asked, giving me a look. I shrugged.

"My status as the agent of the miasma gives me an immunity to it now," I replied. "It also means Kade and I get to start looking into why the Dawn Age had to deal with miasma in the amounts they did after all this is over. There never should have been that much miasma in the world, especially not with Kade sealed even before the Clans had need to seal the sentiences."

Asch sighed. "We'll have to worry about that later," he said. "I'm more worried about a more immediate problem. More specifically, the monsters that Gnome keeps sending after us. This was the largest attack yet, and I get the sneaking suspicion that it's not going to be the end. I think the next attack might be even larger."

"Gnome's learning. I'm a threat, one that can take out massive amounts of monsters at a shot. The next attack..." I shook my head. "I get the feeling we're going to need to unleash another Seasons' Rage on the next battlefield, or we're not going to be able to turn that attack around quite as easily as we have the last few."

Asch shot me another sour look, probably for actually daring to call these battles easy, and I shrugged it off, choosing not to mention the fact that Gnome hadn't actually bothered to show up this time. I hoped that meant he was still reeling from the miasma sword Kade and I had stabbed him with.

"At any rate, sealing the sentiences means these attacks will end, correct?" Crimson asked. I nodded.

"Yes. We've given the five sentiences we've already sealed free run. But Shadow volunteered to make sure we'd be able to tighten it down enough on Gnome, Undine, and Rem to be safe. We can... and, if I'm correct, and Gnome is actually as reasonable as he seemed to act before Anastasia was blackmailed, we should be able to loosen those restrictions eventually," I replied. "There's still a lot we don't know, but I do want to get that pendant back to Gnome."

"I'm guessing you were right, and it does have one of his spirit Energies," Asch said. I grimaced.

"Worse. _Two_."

"Ouch..."

I sighed. "Yeah. That about sums it up..." I stopped and strengthened my telepathic field, because I'd have sworn... "Okay, I'm not crazy." I twisted and was on my feet and running a second later.

"I'm gonna have to argue that one with you," Asch yelped, trying to follow.

"Noir's here!"

"Wait, what?! Where the hell have they been?!"

"Nam Cobanda."

"Uh, they do realize..."

"Probably."

I grabbed the wall and used it to half-swing around it to keep up my momentum. Asch wasn't quite that agile, but at least he managed to make the turn.

"Where..."

"Hang on..." I grumbled back, heading out a servant's door that let out into the alley. And back this way, take a left, and a right over here through this alley...

I ran out the other end, turned left, and smirked. "Noir!"

The woman—notably _not_ wearing her usual costume—stopped, turned, and blinked at me a few times before smiling. "I keep forgetting you're telepathic," she mused. "You wouldn't happen to know where York is, would you?"

I felt around. "Not entirely sure, gimme a sec. You just happened to be close enough to brush against a minute ago..." I stopped, double-checked that presence, and nodded. "Found him." I tapped against his mind and subtly pulled. "What are you two doing here, anyway? With the way you guys retreated to Nam Cobanda, I'd have sworn you were planning to stay there until the sentiences stopped trying to destroy humanity."

Noir sighed. "Well... About that..."

Asch made an odd not-quite-choking sound, and I glanced over at him, noting blue-green where I was used to a solid emerald green. "You're pregnant," he managed.

Noir nodded. "Yes, but how..."

I sighed. "Same way we caught Cantabile, before our resident time-traveler decided to let us all know. You can see, within a few days of conception, a bundle of Energies formed in a woman's womb, right under her Energy Core. Which means, with people like me, Asch, Sync, and Dark running around, all of whom are prone to walking around half on the second plane, keeping a pregnancy secret is really, really difficult."

"Even though Cantabile wasn't trying."

I grimaced. "I'm not sure who I needed to smack over the head for that one, _still_. Her, or Jade. Neither of them actually thought about it until Myre blurted that she was pregnant." I stopped and frowned. "And on that note..."

Asch sighed. "Don't tell me you're going to ask her about..."

I shook my head, even as York found us. "Ask who about what?"

Noir crossed her arms. "Probably ask the time-traveler about the little one that I didn't even get to surprise these two with. Asch rather ruined it."

I snickered. "Sorry. I promise Asch and I will stay quiet if you want to try to get everyone else, though."

York chuckled. "Well, suppose there's not much for it."

Noir sighed. "You were right. We were planning to stay at Nam Cobanda, but... Well. I know you've evacuated as many women and children to Eldrant as you could," she started. "And as much as I'd rather stay with my people... Urushi's got it handled. If this takes too much longer, I'm not sure I want to risk staying on the ground."

I nodded. "It shouldn't, but..." I grimaced. "Gnome doesn't seem to have noticed Nam Cobanda yet. It's right there near the edge of the cliffs in Radessia... he could drop the whole damn peninsula there into the ocean if he realized there was a village there. And that's got me worried. I know you'd never evacuate, but..."

"Which is a large part of why I'm actually willing to come to Eldrant. We're aware of the risk, but we figure, if we stay there, quiet and willing to mind our own business," Noir replied.

I nodded. "I'm glad you came though, just in case. We've got the method, and our allies are sealed, but we still have to catch Gnome, Rem, and Undine to seal them. And that could actually take us a while. I stabbed Gnome with a miasma sword a few weeks back, and haven't seen him since. Given this is the second large attack like this since, and he seems to be fond of helping to spearhead them..."

I sighed, stopped, and shook my head. "But, that's beside the point. We're supposed to be heading back in about an hour, though..." I looked at Asch, who nodded.

"I'll go finish the talk with Father, and see if Hue's ready to move. If he is, we can head back early," Asch replied. He turned and walked off, and I crossed my arms and glanced at Noir, then York, then back to Noir.

"Did you two ever manage to pull off getting married like Urushi said you were planning back at the Blue Lights Festival?" I asked.

Noir shook her head. "No. Sadly. Why?"

I shrugged. "Well, let's see. As soon as we deal with the sentiences and get to work on rebuilding, we'll probably have to draw up another treaty or something of the like, Asch will have to go through the whole coronation, I'll probably have to deal with the ceremony that will make me the official Commandant, since it's looking more and more like Cantabile's just going to foist it off on me, then Jade and Cantabile are getting married..." I stopped and shrugged. "It's going to be one large thing after another, since Jade and Cantabile basically got conned into letting their marriage be a public one for morale purposes. Any excuse for a smaller event would be welcome, and with what Sync and I were wanting to do for those two... Well."

"I'm guessing not something that would be strictly appropriate for the official wedding," Noir guessed.

I nodded.

"Well, if you can find someone willing to officiate, we honestly already have almost everything else ready or arranged," York replied.

I snorted. "And here's the funny part. You guys realize that any of the six God-Generals also is legally certified for that, right? Plus everything else... You're basically going to have your pick of a _lot_ of people."

Noir laughed a bit. "I suppose that's true. Never thought that I'd be so glad to have so many friends in high places."

I hummed a few bars of 'Friends in Low Places.' "It's worth it to have friends on both ends of the scale," I decided.

Asch returned a moment later, a still tired but at least awake Hue following. "We all ready?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yes." I walked over to Noir and York, and as soon as we were all in a smaller space, Asch wrapped us all in a hyperresonance.

Luke and Lorelei couldn't transport me like this, we'd found out. Not unless I was just one in the middle of a group of thirty or so, and there was a very low amount of miasma in my body. Asch's hyperresonance was the only one that could teleport me like this in this small a group.

We emerged right where we always seemed to, under the tree everyone seemed to have dubbed as ours, and I looked up at the morning sky and scowled.

Morning sky. As in, about three in the morning.

"You know. The only thing I really hate about teleporting all over the place is the fact that it's day where we leave and night where we land half the time, or vice versa."

York chuckled. "It does sound annoying. And what's with the glowing water?"

I crossed my arms and smiled. "Fairy water. I kinda overdid a cleansing spell," I replied. "And that was the result."

"I'm still trying to reconcile 'I overdid a cleansing spell' with 'glowing water,' but it's certainly not hurting anyone..." Reighn said, walking up. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Gnome's attack was turned back, if killing all the monsters counts as that," I replied. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Just got in myself. Lorelei dragged me out to Baticul with a number of Kimlascan soldiers to get the melting snow cleared out before the crater floods completely," Reighn replied. "Apparently the lower levels of Baticul were shielded from the worst of the snow, but now that the snow's melting, they're getting flooded pretty badly."

I grimaced. "And right there is probably a good reason to start grabbing buckets out of the springs. You're water-elemental, you'd have an easier time with it... Remember what I keep doing with the water, playing around with it?"

"What, like Thalassa's always got water trailing after her?"

I froze, smiled, and nodded. "That's it. Dump a few gallons of the spring water in with the regular water, grab Cantabile, make sure she gets this back..." I held out Phaïe's Song, "and take Phaïe and Thalassa. They can move the water."

Reighn stared at the monolith shard for a moment before facepalming. "Obvious answers. Why do I keep missing these things?"

I shook my head. "We're _all_ tired, Reighn. If we're having to resort to all of us needing to throw _multiple_ brains at a problem, that means we need to end this fast so we can get some sleep sometime this year."

Reighn nodded and left.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Yup. Noir's pregnant. Remember I kept mentioning a Fleur previously? Ladies and gentlemen, that would be the little lady Noir's currently carrying. Fleur is appropriately terrifying. (And btw, I have her concept art for the Future Arcs done. That will be posted sometime in early July.)_


	78. Chapter 11-1 Part 78

_And here's another one... Chapter 11 begins..._

 _Finally finished Chapter 13, so once I've got Chapter 14 done, I'll have all the Main Arcs done. Yay~ (It helps that Kairi just killed another whole Part out of my outline.)  
_

 _Enjoy._

* * *

" _You know my first reaction to being woken up is_ still _kill it dead, right?" –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.1 – The End Fights Back  
Part 78**

Saphir latched onto my telepathic field as I was doing my 'early morning sword dance' as Asch had started putting it. It was a bit unusual, as most people left me alone until the sun was well and truly up in the sky.

*Yes?* I asked.

*Undine's in Tataroo Valley. Has been for a few hours. And, as best I can tell, is still alone,* Saphir replied. *Not enough Energies for there to be a mass amount of monsters, not enough of any other type of fonon to indicate that another sentience is there...*

I spun through one last movement, then let Silver Clematis go to resettle on my arm. *I'll contact Asch and the other Clan Heads,* I said. *Assuming all of them are on Eldrant.*

*Sync is in St. Binah, and if this register is correct, Jade is in Chesedonia already,* Saphir said. *But Shadow's already after those two,* he added a moment later. *Do you want him to bring them both here, or just leave Sync in Chesedonia like he's planning?*

I thought about it. Chesedonia was about a day's walk from Tataroo Valley. *Assuming Undine will still be there.*

*Probably. When I said 'a few hours,' I meant almost twenty. She doesn't look at all inclined to leave.*

I nodded, not that he could see it, even as I started tapping against the awake minds. I needed to go wake up Dark and Luke still. Because those two were good at sleeping until the sun was in the sky.

The rest of us... Well. Reighn, Tear, and Hue were soldiers. And I was _always_ up obnoxiously early.

So as soon as I had Asch, Hue, Reighn, and Tear headed in my direction—Reighn had been at Thalassa's spring making sure the spirit hadn't exhausted herself—I stepped into the group 'headquarters' and looked at the two I had to wake up.

Luke first, I decided, walking over and shaking him awake.

He rolled away trying to avoid me, only to roll right out of the cot. I snorted. "Well, now that you're awake, get dressed. We've got work to do," I said. Luke was technically a soldier too, but, well. He was horrible at this getting up at the crack of dawn thing.

Speaking of technical soldiers... Dark's turn.

And this one was kinda dangerous.

I nudged his arm rather more strongly than I normally would, and, unsurprisingly, had to dodge a knife thrown at my head.

Dark froze the second he saw me, and then took a deep, semi-shaky breath. "Don't. Do. That."

I smiled apologetically. "Sorry. But we've got work to do. Needed you up."

He scowled, sat up, and stretched a bit. "You know my first reaction to being woken up is _still_ kill it dead, right?"

"Yes, and that's why I woke Luke before I woke you."

He paused and glanced around, then looked up at me. "Luke. You. Me. Why do I get the feeling the other Clan Heads are on their way?"

"Because they are. Shadow's getting Sync from St. Binah and dropping him in Chesedonia with Jade. That's where Asch is going to take us. And then we get to go see what Undine's up to in Tataroo Valley."

There was a pause as Dark processed that. Then he growled more than a few uncomplimentary things. "I hate you. And how the hell are we sure Undine's actually there?"

"The amount of fonons needed for a sentience to form up in an area is singularly high enough for the passage rings to track, and I've had Saphir keeping an eye on it. She's been there almost a full day already."

"It's obnoxious o'clock, Kairi."

"It's five-thirty."

Dark shot me a look, daring me to actually repeat that, and then finally got out of bed and started grabbing clothing. Luke looked about as pleased with the early morning wake-up call, but he also looked very, very determined. He was angry, and I didn't have to ask to know why.

Guy. Luke was after Undine as revenge for Guy.

I couldn't blame him, really.

So I walked to the corner, crossed my arms, and waited. Tear was the only other female Head, sadly, and though Asch wasn't a Clan Head, he was a healer, and the only teleporter I currently had access to who wouldn't hurt me.

Well, I supposed I could have asked Saphir to have Shadow transport us, or teleported everyone myself, but...

Shadow was currently busy looking for Rem, and though he'd stopped to take Sync to Chesedonia, we really did need to find Rem first.

Also, I didn't want to play with miasma around Luke.

By the time Luke and Dark were dressed and awake enough to move, the others had all joined us, Tear rather more literally than the others, as she'd stood next to me in the corner, pointedly not looking at Luke or Dark.

"Alright, we're headed for... Wait, where are Jade and Sync?" Asch asked, still not as awake as I was.

"Shadow took Sync to Chesedonia, where Jade was. We'll be headed there. Undine's been at Tataroo Valley for almost a whole day now; she'll probably still be there when we get there," I replied.

Asch yawned, forced away the tiredness, shot Luke a sour look, and then motioned everyone around him.

He still didn't like doing this, but he could put up with it now, at least. And that was a good thing, because the better he was with this, the less the rest of us had to worry about him accidentally screwing up.

That was something that tended to amuse me with fonons. Be cautious until you've gotten it down. Then relax, because the more worried you are, the more likely you are to screw up. Keep the possible consequences in mind, but be casual.

These thoughts distracted me until we were suddenly no longer in Eldrant, and I was staring out over the same water where we'd lost Guy weeks ago.

I grimaced and turned away, looking at the city. Blue and green caught my eye, Jade and Sync walking out of Chesedonia to join us.

"Shadow said Undine's in Tataroo Valley," Jade started. "Given what Saphir's been up to here lately, I can guess how we know this. What are we going to do if she isn't there when we get there, though?"

I crossed my arms. "We'll just have to head back to Chesedonia. We should be able to get to the valley before night falls," I replied. "So the faster we move now, the more time we'll have to look before we risk fighting her by night."

"Undine is aligned with Shadow," Reighn noted. "A nighttime battle would favor her."

"It would, if I weren't also on your side," Kade said. "And keep in mind. Asch won't be able to help fight."

"You won't, either," Hue said. "If we can seal her mid-battle..."

I smirked. "Except Kade can slip back into my body in seconds, remember? The moment we start to seal Undine, he can safely be out of the way. Asch can't move that fast, not physically and not with his hyperresonance, either."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Well, we might as well get going. We're wasting daylight as it stands."

I nodded and started walking, pointedly ignoring all of the negative memories. Staring over the water after Guy's death. The attack of the replica army that killed Ari...

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I didn't have a great track record in this area...

We got to Tataroo Valley as the sun started dropping low enough in the sky as to not totally blind us, and by the time we got up near the area where the Archives were, we still hadn't found Undine.

I had a feeling I knew where to look, though. Because up on top of the cliffs was a lake, and that was what fed the waterfall and stream that flowed through the valley. I crossed my arms and examined the cliff face. We didn't really want to climb straight up it, I supposed, but, well...

There was a soft neighing sound, and I glanced at the cliff that faced out toward the sea, giving us a very good view of Eldrant, floating above the world with ease.

Also out there was the uniceros. It avoided coming too close to me, but it appeared to be upset.

"A uniceros?" Dark murmured. "There's still one alive?"

I nodded. "It was here before."

"Try using your telepathy, Kairi," Dark said. "They're supposed to be just as intelligent as ligers or cheagles."

Really? I reached out and tapped against its mind carefully, noting that Dark was correct, because it allowed the connection curiously. *Hello,* I greeted it.

Sorry, _him_.

He thought in images, much like the ligers did, but... also very different. Less feelings, more words, all surrounding the images.

At least it wasn't utterly backwards, like the cheagles.

*You were here before. You carried the faint feel of miasma then, but... Now...*

*I am immune to it now, whereas I was harmed by it before, and despite the fact that it no longer harms me, the scars remain,* I replied. *Have you a name?*

The uniceros tossed his mane, and sent me a half-thought, half-image, as well as a curious nudge.

I smiled. The uniceri seemed to keep more to the naming schemes held by the cheagles, where they would call it as they saw it in regards to the named. This, unfortunately, led to some long names. And the uniceros seemed interested in what human name I might be interested in assigning to him.

So I sent back the first thing that came to mind, as well as the reasons why.

He seemed amused and pleased with the choice, and neighed lightly. *You may call me such.*

I pulled the others into the channel before 'speaking' again. *Then it's a pleasure to meet you again, Erebor.*

He agreed. *What are you all doing here?* he wondered. He seemed to be a very curious type.

*We're looking for Undine,* Reighn replied, much the same as Erebor has asked his question and greeted the others. It just went to show how much we really were used to using the telepathy this way.

Erebor seemed to recognize the mental image Reighn had sent of the woman who'd attacked Baticul. *She works up above. Pulling on the waters that draw from the ocean below, fixing the village hidden in the lake. You will not find her on the surface,* he told us.

Village... hidden in the lake...?

Asch was the one to ask about it, but I sent along a mental image, purposefully rough and blurry, of the Ferines village you see on the Legacy in Tales of Legendia. Erebor turned to me and nodded. *Are you a descendant of the Radiant? So few survived, their true being as the people of the water is now forgotten, it seems...*

And even the Orerines name for the Ferines had pulled through. Wow.

I crossed my arms as something finally started to make sense. Something must have happened for Undine to choose to attack the humans. What if...?

That village Shadow had shown us. An _underground_ lake. If the humans had thought the Ferines would attack them, or if human actions had collapsed the cavern... And Kenji had said he hadn't made it to Lars in time, he hadn't been able to stop them...

*Slow down please, I can't think that fast,* Sync muttered.

*Kairi... if you're right, the implications...* Jade started. I nodded.

*It means there may still be Ferines out there, as well. If Undine's taking the time to actually rebuild a Ferines village...*

Asch crossed his arms. *Start at the beginning for the rest of us, please.*

*Kenji said the last of the Ferines had been killed when Masaru found him in the Clan meeting place, remember?* I started. *That Undine's people had been killed. But Undine's been mostly staying out of the middle of things, since Baticul, and now she's rebuilding a Ferines village? I think either some of the Ferines survived, or Undine's found some way to bring the Ferines back.*

There was a moment of silence, and then Jade sighed. *Well, we're not going to learn anything standing around down here. We should at least go see if we can even get to Undine. If she's happy enough just rebuilding, I'd be alright with simply applying the seal and moving on.*

I nodded. *Same.*

General agreement seemed to float around the group, and Erebor seemed to be amused as well. *Climbing up there from here would be difficult. Come. There is a path we can take, with the remains of a village along the way where all of you can rest when the light is gone from the sky. I will show you, so that you need not attempt the climb up the walls.*

*Thank you, Erebor. We are grateful for the assistance,* I replied.

*...I would, however, ask that you lower the amount of miasma in your body, if you can. It's... irritating.*

I grimaced and looked over at Asch, who sighed.

Forcing the miasma out of a single, specific spot was a pain, but at least there wasn't that much.

I was careful to aim the miasma well away from Erebor, and Asch easily dispersed all of the amount I allowed out of my body.

It brought my levels down to just enough for a Guardian's Pain, and no more. It also left me feeling a bit unbalanced, like I'd been carrying around a heavy backpack and it had been taken away from me.

Erebor trotted past us, leading us across the stream, past the Tataroo Valley sephiroth, and up a trail. It was a bit twisty, but when the two standing stones came into view, I stopped and started looking around.

Standing stones... I didn't see any others immediately, not even in the open space past them, so that meant it likely wasn't part of a circle. Good.

Everyone else had stopped when I had.

"Kairi?"

"Standing stones. Given how much the Clans knew about Energies, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry," I started, slipping half onto the second plane as I stepped forward.

There was magic here. Old magic, but magic. Thankfully, it seemed to just be a warning circle. It would connect elsewhere, a warning to someone within the village that strangers had entered.

There was nothing malicious to it, just something to protect the village.

I stepped through, noted the Energy circle pulsing, and held up a hand to stop the others from following me. Best to make sure...

"We're clear," I said after a couple minutes.

"You're paranoid," Luke complained.

"Not really," I replied as they walked through, Erebor standing at the bottom of the hill and looking up at me confusedly. "Considering we all just tripped that circle."

"Wait, _what?!_ "

I sighed. "Relax, Reighn. It just sends a warning that strangers entered."

Eternal pessimist...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _That little village there is Hikarikage. It makes appearances in a lot of the TotA stories my friends and I write._

 _Cries in the Night: Echo's home village (Co-op between me and Teá/WeGotWinx. I may or may not continue this on my own eventually, or we'll take it up together again once she's worked out her current life problems.)  
Bloodline Trilogy: The Sakkaku's home village (Marluxia of Avalon/Tony's main story. He's gone utterly AWOL, sadly...)  
The Other Side of the Mirror: Daniel's alternate universe to the Bloodline Trilogy. Or rather, the literal other half of that universe. Since the Sakkaku family exists in both, so too does the village._

 _So it's only fitting that it showed up here, finally._


	79. Chapter 11-2 Part 79

_And another one! I'm on a roll today! (At work on morning break, and have already written 5k for the story as I'm typing this.)_

 _Be wary of emotional stuff near the end. :D_

 _So, yeah, thought this was a good place to leave off tonight. XD_

 _Seriously. Enjoy._

* * *

" _Well... Not gonna deny that one. 'Cursed fire' fits." –Kairi_

" _You realize that's... basically the Relares version of Luke's name?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.2 – The End Fights Back  
Part 79**

We made it up to the lake at about nine the next morning, and I smiled a bit. Because the lake was beautiful, and clear, and I could see the village below the water, and the parts that were above water, as well.

Undine had gotten a lot of work done rather quickly, it seemed.

I stood at the edge of the lake and looked in.

"Wow..." Reighn murmured. "Aside from the springs at Eldrant, I've _never_ seen water this clear."

I smiled. "I know. And look at the village. This lake probably housed almost a thousand Ferines, once." It was a fairly large lake, I had to admit. And the Ferines village didn't even take up half of it.

Glowing blue caught my eyes, and I spotted Undine, whose hair was glowing the same shade of blue as I'd always seen in Tales of Legendia.

And then she noticed us, and was standing out on the water, looking over at us impassively.

"Why are you here?" she asked, looking more than ready to send the water from the lake at us.

I hummed. "Shadow showed us the Ferines at the Ruins of Werites," I said. "I..." I paused and rethought my wording. "I recognized them from folklore from my own world."

Undine narrowed her eyes at me. "And your point?"

I looked at the village, eyes tracing over the different arches and everything that made up the buildings... "They're fascinating, honestly."

"What do you care, Helkes?"

I winced, and noted Undine's curious look, even as I sighed. "Well... Not gonna deny that one. 'Cursed fire' fits."

"You know Relares."

"Bits and pieces. I'm not a master of the language, but, as I said, the Ferines are fascinating. That's why I was so interested to see them when Shadow showed us his memories."

The others were staying back, except Reighn, ever the curious cat, who was far more interested in the buildings under the water. It looked like the fact that I was willing to stand here and have a proper conversation with Undine was enough of a hint for the rest of them not to interrupt.

"A shame, truly, that you are so deeply rooted in the fire and the darkness, and that Kade has already laid his claim on you," Undine said. "You have a strength to you... You would have done well as Merines."

I hummed. That answered a lot. "If it becomes necessary, regardless of what I am, I will stand between the Orerines and the Ferines."

Undine glanced over the others. "You intended to seal me."

Kade slipped into existence just behind me and to my right. "As all five of us who have been helping them have already been sealed."

Undine frowned. "Sylph still flies free, and Shadow attempts to catch Rem."

I nodded. "It's not the same seal the Clans used three thousand years ago."

"A version of that which was used on Kade when I was still very young," Undine realized. Her eyes narrowed again. "I am no fool. I have struck against you... Multiple times. I will not be sealed."

She shot me a look, and, to my shock, latched onto my telepathic field even as her body burst into water. *Not just yet. Not until a Ferines stands among you as a Clan Head.*

And then she was gone, completely so, and I blinked a few times.

That would be... difficult.

Unless she was planning to kidnap one of us...

I glanced back at Tear. Not quite the blonde-hair that seemed to be the standard for the Ferines, but she did have blue eyes...

But she was still standing there, looking utterly confused as to why I'd be looking her way. I looked at the lake again, sighed, and crossed my arms. "Well. That was... annoying."

"Why do I get the feeling she told you something she didn't tell the rest of us?" Jade asked.

"'Not just yet. Not until a Ferines stands among you as a Clan Head,'" I repeated.

Reighn grimaced. "I'm a little more worried about what she said about _you_. What did she mean, you'd have done well as Merines? You're human."

I nodded. Human, and also not quite fitting the what had seemed to be the standard appearance requirement in Legendia, but... "The Merines is the leader of the Ferines, and, in times of need, their protector. Legendia... To be honest, most of the conflict happened between the Orerines, the humans, and the Ferines."

"Better question. How did you get 'cursed fire' out of 'helkes?'" Jade asked. I snorted.

"I'll explain on the way back to Chesedonia. Might as well just meet up with the Albiore that's meant to pick up you and your team," I replied. "And I'll see how much of Tales of Legendia I can explain as we go."

"Right. But still. The way Undine said it... it almost sounded like 'helkes' was meant to be, like... a name or something," Sync said.

"It was. Just like... Well, you all know the strike arte DelQues, right?" Everyone nodded. "One of the main Ferines who shows up, who spends most of the game as an antagonist, is named Walter Delques. The Ferines have their given names, and their 'true names.'" I put air quotes around the last two words, and then sighed. "Shirley Fennes, Fenimore Xelhes, Stella Telmes... All of the Ferines have a name created using Ancient Relares runes. The rune 'de' is for black, death, and so on. 'Que' is wing."

"Ah, I see. So the last letter that gets added denotes whether the rune is used as a verb, a noun, or an adjective," Jade said. I nodded.

"'L' for an adjective, 'n' for a verb, 's' for a noun. Those also change sometimes when spoken by the Orerines, mostly due to a lack of understanding of the language. Ferines really should be said Felnes, 'fe' meaning water, holiness... What?"

"Water and holiness," Asch deadpanned.

"People of the _water_ , Asch. They worship Undine the way most people these days worship Lorelei and the Score."

He nodded after a moment, seeming to realize the logic in that.

"So 'ne' would be people?" Jade asked.

"Person, people, yes, basically. Shirley's true name, 'Fennes,' means 'one who prays.' Fitting, as she was the Merines in Legendia."

"What's the 'orel' part in Orerines, then?" Reighn asked.

"Earth," I replied easily.

"Alright, back to 'helkes,'" Sync grumbled. I winced again.

"Alright, alright... The rune 'he' is for curse. Fenimore Xelhes... her name means blessing. The 'xe' sort of... makes the 'he' have its opposite meaning," I started. "And it's an 'l,' so it's an adjective. The rune 'ke' is for fire, that one's a noun."

"So it literally did mean 'cursed fire,'" Jade mused. "That's... a bit disturbing. Why did she call you that?"

"I think anyone with Kade's blessing, ergo me and Asch, is also going to get stuck with that damn 'he' rune somewhere in whatever Relares name Undine comes up with."

And that closed that particular argument.

"So, what's Relares mean?"

I sighed. "Um... That's getting into runes I'm not entirely certain on. The only reason I know so much about most of the runes that came up in this conversation is because I found the whole 'true names' thing utterly fascinating and starting digging online. I remember most of it because it applied to things, but, well. I still remember that 'Werites' has something to do with natural springs. By the way, fun fact, the main city Legendia takes place in is named Werites Beacon. So... Yeah. Ruins of Werites kinda had me having a bit of a what-the-fuck moment."

Sync chuckled. "You're hopeless, Kairi."

I shrugged, not really denying it.

I spent most of the next day and a half talking about Tales of Legendia. We were on the road, not far from Chesedonia, as the sun was going down, when I spotted him.

There was a man laying on the sands, with the waves washing over him, wearing dark pants and a light coat.

And his hair was glowing blue.

I was off and running in seconds, not even thinking twice. He was just laying there, and that meant he was probably... injured...

No.

I stopped a couple yards away, taking a second look.

I knew that outfit. Knew the hairstyle, even if it wasn't supposed to be glowing blue.

I couldn't force myself to move.

"Kairi?"

The others were still a ways back, so I forced myself forward. I had to know, had to be certain...

I knelt next to him and put two fingers to his neck, finding a pulse easily, even as I slipped onto the second plane, glancing at his Energy Core.

Steady, heavily water-based, with wind pulling a close second. Still...

I half-slumped in shock.

He was...

I swallowed and pulled him out of the water fully, noting that his hair stopped glowing after a bit, leaving pure blonde behind. I managed to get him on my back, and walked back over to the rest of the group.

I wasn't the only one who was shell-shocked now, because all of them had seen his face then.

"We need to get back to Chesedonia," I said, voice locked in a monotone. A lot of numb nodding followed my statement, and I turned and started walking. We needed to get to an inn. The Albiore wouldn't be getting here until sometime tomorrow, and it wasn't quite nighttime yet...

I forced myself to keep moving, and that was probably the only thing that got all ten of us to the inn. I laid the man in one room and then left, handing the key for that room to Luke. Jade and Reighn would share, Asch and Sync would take a third room, Tear and I would share, and Hue and Dark would take the last room.

No one spoke. No one dared, all of us not quite willing to believe that the man I'd just carried into Chesedonia was really laying in a bed in the other room.

Part of me wanted to change my mind, to tell Luke to switch rooms with me, but I didn't think my staring would be appreciated. So I just laid on my bed for a while and looked at the ceiling, seeing it but not seeing it, until I finally managed to fall asleep.

When I woke up, I was mostly convinced that it was all just a dream, and I slipped out of bed and headed for the Kimlascan-side port. There was enough space down there that I could do my usual sword practice without really needing to worry about hitting anyone.

I settled in and got to work, step step swing. It was all just a weird-ass dream, I tried to convince myself. It was a random Ferines. It wasn't the man I'd thought it was.

Gailardia Galan Gardios was _dead_.

And that had been my fault, because I hadn't thought to pay attention to one of my Talents.

I was moving faster than I usually did, not really thinking about more than moving and trying to cast the thoughts out of my mind.

"Kairi?"

My eyes shot open at that voice, and three things hit me all at once.

Gai _lar_ dia. Lars.

Guy was watching me.

Holy crap get _away_ from that edge!

Silver Clematis resettled on my arm even as I scuttled a few feet away from the water I'd damn near fallen into. I took a deep breath, managed to calm myself back down slightly, and then looked over at Guy. Because... it couldn't be anyone else... could it?

I reached out and nudged him telepathically, and he tilted his head to the side before letting it connect, and shoving an amused bundle of 'what's up with you?' down the channel.

I took another shaky breath.

It was Guy. There was no denying that, not mind-to-mind like this...

The telepathic connection was lost, and I covered the distance between myself and the blonde man faster than Guy could react.

Which might have explained his utterly confused reaction when I grabbed him for a hug.

"Ah... Kairi?!"

"You didn't come back up."

"Huh? But..." Guy started.

"That wave pulled you under, and you didn't come back up... Everyone thought you were dead."

He was silent for a moment. "...How long... How long was I... gone?"

I did the math as quickly as I could. "Just shy of a month," I replied.

He didn't reply immediately, and finally just wrapped his arms around me in return. "Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you blaming yourself?"

"Because Undine slipped around my watch. We... I thought you were _dead_. And I had to tell Noelle, and..." I stopped and took a shaky breath.

Guy tightened his grip, seeming to realize that letting go of me was the last thing he wanted to do when I was this upset. "Kairi... I'm okay. I'm here, I'm back..." He stopped. "Okay. Maybe 'okay' was a bad word..."

I took a deep breath. "I just got named Helkes a few days ago. I think 'okay' is relative."

Guy was silent for a bit before he started chuckling. "Well. It's fitting. And... maybe just what the world needs." I pulled away and gave him a curious look. "What? If the Score, which was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Order of Lorelei, was trying to lead the world to its end, then burning it out is going to be a hell of a lot harder than it really needs to be."

I hummed. "True." I shifted back and forth. "So... What's your name?"

Guy smiled a bit, realizing exactly what I was asking for. "Felkelmes," he replied softly.

I smiled back. "You realize that's... basically the Relares version of Luke's name?"

Guy chuckled and scratched the back of his head, now that he had his arms back. "Yeah. Merida pointed that out to me."

"Who's Merida?" I asked, curious. "And where _exactly_ have you been?" I had a theory, but...

"Uh..." Guy started. He looked sheepish. "You... wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"No... Lars?"

He froze, and I snickered. "Shadow saw you at the Ruins of Werites."

Guy ran a hand through his hair. "I noticed. I thought he didn't take a human form until the replica body we gave him?"

"He didn't."

"But, then..." Guy stopped and blinked a few times. " _He's_ been jumping around in time, too."

I nodded. "Went back to learn as much as he could. Got told rather firmly by Kade not to change anything, too."

"But, Undine..."

"The Ferines were fairly withdrawn from the world," I said. "And she basically shoved you back there to learn about them, didn't she?" Guy nodded. "See? And I'll bet as soon as the trouble started, she pulled you right back." Guy sighed, nodded again, and looked at his hands.

"It's kinda weird, though. I de-aged coming back."

I smiled. "Welcome back."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Okay, so I'm not 100% certain if 'me' is the correct rune for light. But when Merines means 'Shining One' and Stella's 'Telmes' means something to do with light (-is shot for having forgotten the translation of Stella's true name-), I'm making what I hope counts as an educated guess. (I really need to go play Legendia again.)_

 _Anyway, the breakdown of Guy's true name:_

' _Felkes' would equal out to 'Sacred flame'. (Perfect counter to Helkes, right?)_

 _Delques means either 'black wings' or 'wings of death', so 'Light of the Sacred Flame' required that extra 'mes' thrown in. Not 100% sure if Felkelmes was completely correct, but I did my best. (In my defense, Legendia is not a common fandom. It's_ very _difficult to get information on a language made for that game, specifically.)_


	80. Chapter 11-3 Part 80

_And another one! -does a dance- On a roll!_

 _Only warning this chapter is for Asch channeling my boyfriend and being a bit of a sap. Thankfully, he_ wrote _most of this chapter, so I think he can be forgiven for that._

* * *

" _But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction, ice... is also great, and would suffice... I can't believe you still remember that." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.3 – The End Fights Back  
Part 80**

Guy hadn't just been sent back as he'd been taken, there was an outfit in his wing pack that hadn't been there before, once he actually bothered to look. And once he found it, he took it out, found a spot to hide from prying eyes, and changed.

The man that stepped out again was, without any doubt, one of the Ferines. I smiled at the sight, even as Guy walked up the water's edge, watching the sky turning lighter. The sun was rising on the other side of town, but watching as the stars left the sky...

Luke came racing down the steps as the last few stars became invisible, and I glanced over my shoulder and smiled.

The redhead ran over, stopped a few feet away, and glanced over Guy again, noting the change in outfit.

Guy turned and smiled. "Hey, Luke."

"...Guy?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah. Kairi said... I've been gone for a month?" Luke nodded. "Heh... It felt like years." It _was_ years, but Guy didn't say that, perhaps wisely. "But I guess I still got the better end of the bargain. I knew all along I'd be coming back. You guys didn't."

Luke did much the same I had. Stepped forward and threw his arms around Guy, holding onto him like a lifeline. I stepped past the two of them quietly, not wanting to intrude any longer. Guy and Luke were brothers. Very much so, for Guy to have gotten the Relares name Felkelmes. And I had a feeling that Undine had _known_ that Guy was the true Head of Gardios.

Luke wouldn't keep that title any longer than he necessarily had to. It was Guy's place. And Undine had likely known that, and given him back to us.

It kinda raised questions, because if she'd taken a human Guy and returned a Ferines Guy, that meant she'd probably taken and returned others. But we didn't notice it, it looked like. Because people died every day, from dozens of different things.

I met up with Jade and Asch as I walked, and Jade gave me a worried look. "Kairi?"

"Luke and Guy are down at the port," I said. "I'm going to go out and meet Noelle. Ginji should be taking this week off."

"It really was...?"

I smiled and looked back at Asch, holding out my hand a bit. He took the prompting and slipped his fingers between mine. "Yes. Shadow showed us, though none of us realized it. It seems all of the sentiences are fond of time-traveling, but no one's willing to do the sort of damage that would be caused if they really, really changed something from three thousand years ago."

"So, the man with Kenji... Lars... it really _was_ Guy, and not just someone with an amazing likeness?" Jade asked, trailing behind me and Asch like a third wheel. I nodded.

"Yes. I'm not sure how Undine did it, but I think she's been pulling as many people as she can, turning them into Ferines, and just... depositing them into the Ferines villages of the past, a few years before the village is destroyed, and then pulling them back when the destruction happens..." I stopped and grimaced. "On that note. Be warned. Guy is physically twenty...two," I said, correcting myself as I remembered his birthday had passed some time ago. "However, he spent about a decade in the Ruins of Werites before Undine sent him back to us. So, mentally, he's closer to your age now, Jade."

Jade grimaced. "That's likely going to be messing with his head."

"Oh, I imagine it is," I replied. "Still, I'm grateful to have him back, and even happier to know that Undine's not quite as angry as I'd worried. Though it makes me wonder a bit... As far as Myre knew, she was just as focused on wiping out humanity as Gnome was. Then again, the Ferines always seem to be rather withdrawn from the world. So if it was a side-project or something of the sort, it's very possible that they wouldn't have noticed it."

"We may need to ask Guy how much he knows about all this," Jade said. "He was directly involved, after all."

I nodded. "And we will. _After_ we've managed to convince everyone that no, they're not crazy, and yes, Guy really did effectively come back from the dead. Courtesy of the same sentience who supposedly killed him."

Jade chuckled. "I can't imagine our return to Eldrant being met with anything less than a good twenty incredulous stares."

Asch sighed. "Isn't that basically how we all got into Chesedonia last night?"

I smiled. "Yeah. But it's a good thing when it's for a reason like this." We were at the northern edge of Chesedonia now, so I found a wall to lean against, only for Asch to steal my wall space and wrap his arms around me, forcing me to lean against him instead.

...Eh. He was more comfortable than the wall, anyway.

Jade adjusted his glasses, looked like he was considering something for a few minutes, and then sighed. "I'm going to go see if the others are up yet," he finally said, turning and walking off.

I waited until he was out of earshot to snort. "Took us long enough to ditch Mr. I-Must-Play-Third-Wheel."

Asch hummed and shifted just a bit. "So... I know... A lot of what's been coming up in the meetings here recently is in regards to pre-planning for once we've sealed all the sentiences." He paused. "I guess... What I wanted to ask was, when, exactly, do we want to get married?"

I took a breath, intending to answer, but couldn't find the words, and I let it out in something of a sigh, biting my lip as I thought it over. "Not immediately," I said. That much I knew for sure. "Jade and Cantabile, and Noir and York..."

My thoughts were a mess. With everything that had happened, everything we still had to get done...

How the hell was I supposed to be planning out a wedding at a time like this?

I'd just started to shake my head when Asch's arms tightened. "Let's try something a little different. _Where_ do we want to get married?"

I froze before I could half-snap that that wasn't helping, because... Because that was one I could answer, watching the shadows shifting over the mountains. The honest answer wouldn't really work for the political side of things, but...

"What if... what if we did it twice?" I asked, turning enough to look at Asch. "Jade and Cantabile are going to be halfway hijacking the reception for York and Noir's wedding. Just... do something small... well. Small _er_ ," I corrected myself. Asch chuckled a bit as well. With the number of friends we had, a truly _small_ wedding was impossible. "But... Something small, and then the whole big shebang for the politics."

Asch had one of those smiles on his face. The small ones that you tended not to notice unless you were really, truly looking for them. Ones that tended to only come out aimed at me.

"Where?" he asked. I smiled and turned toward the north again.

"Tataroo Valley," I replied softly. The same place he'd given me the promise ring. Where we'd met up after lowering the Outer Lands. And maybe it held significance in the game as the place where it all began, where Luke and Tear started their journey, and where it all ended, in the credits, when the figure who could have been Asch, Luke, or some combination of the two, returned to them.

But to me, it held significance in that one, single memory, a memory of a ring slipped into my hand, and fingers running through my hair.

"Summer," Asch said, quiet but decisive. "Next summer. This summer is far too packed already, and... I think we both need to get settled into our positions before..."

I smiled and leaned my head back, using Asch's shoulder as a headrest. "Summer." Which was fitting enough, as I was fire-elemental, and fire aligned with summer. And though Asch was water elemental, aligned with winter, I knew he tolerated the heat far better than I tolerated the cold.

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice," I said softly, amused by the whole thing.

I felt Asch sticking his nose into my hair. "From what I've tasted of desire, I side with those who favor fire," he murmured.

"But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction, ice... is also great, and would suffice," I muttered back. "I can't believe you still remember that."

Asch chuckled, but didn't respond, as both of us could see the Albiore II headed in for the landing. And I could feel the mind in the cockpit. Very definitely Noelle.

I waited until she'd landed to nudge her telepathically, and subtly pulled. I could feel the others headed this way. When you were watching the skies for it, it was always fairly easy to see the Albiores coming in, and they'd seen it.

The team Jade had come with originally was grouped around him, and he shot me and Asch a mildly surprised look. Probably because we didn't appear at all inclined to move from where we were still settled in against the wall.

I send Guy a vague mental nudge to halfway hide himself behind the others, and he seemed amused by my plotting.

It took five minutes for Noelle to shut the Albiore II down, lower the ramp, and step out. "Is something wrong?" she asked warily, not even noticing the extra among the group. I smiled.

"Yeah."

I looked over at Guy, because really... That was all I needed to say.

And though I wasn't looking, I knew, from Noelle's gasp, that pulling her out here now was the right choice.

I giggled a bit as I watched Guy swing Noelle around, just as happy to see her as she was to see him, and Jade sighed and walked over to me. "I'm getting the feeling we're not getting back to Eldrant any time soon."

I smiled. "Eh. I'm going to give those two five minutes, and then tell them to move it onto the Albiore. I'll fly us back."

"Mmm... That means I'm gonna have to let go."

"Yes, it does. I can't imagine you're all that comfortable squashed between me and the wall, either, though."

Asch chuckled. "Eh. I've been in worse situations."

"Ugh. You two are going to give me a cavity."

Which had Asch snorting and me laughing my ass off. Which drew attention over to us, and basically had everyone moving onto the Albiore earlier than I'd intended to grumble at everyone.

The fact that Noelle didn't even argue when I told her I'd be flying us back told me more than enough. She and Guy had some catching up to do, and we all had to get back to Eldrant. And it wasn't that I didn't enjoy flying. I really did.

Asch sat in the co-pilot's seat, a spot he usually avoided since he liked to leave it open for someone who actually knew how to pilot the Albiore.

However, Guy and Noelle were busy chatting in one of the cabins, and the rest of the Clan Heads were just sitting around, for the most part.

"So I guess we should probably reinstate Guy as the Clan Head of Gardios, assuming the register even removed him at all," Reighn replied.

I hummed. "Given that the magic connecting the Clans didn't really exist anymore when Guy supposedly died, and it was reinstated in full with the sealing of Kade, notably while Guy was still three thousand years in the past and very much _not_ affiliated with Clan Garudiosu, I think Luke is going to have to formally hand the position back."

Silence reigned in the cockpit for a few minutes.

"Excuse me?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Reighn, then turned forward again. "You're going to have to be a _bit_ more specific there. I'm not up to digging around in your head."

Reighn took a deep breath. "Correct me if I'm wrong, which I'm kinda thinking I am, but... three thousand years in the past?"

"Oh. Yeah. Right. That. Turns out, Guy and Lars are actually one and the same. Why didn't Jade tell you that?"

"Because Jade's a lazy-ass bastard that gets a kick out of confusing people," Luke deadpanned at the same time Jade said, "Because I was more worried about getting everyone back to Eldrant _on schedule_."

I glanced at Asch, and from the amused look on his face, it was obvious which of the two he was siding with.

I rolled my eyes and looked forward again. "Any other questions?" I asked.

"What the hell was Guy doing three thousand years in the past and using the name Lars?" Reighn replied, still sounding incredulous.

I sighed. "Why don't we all ask him _later_. After we've landed and managed to get it through all our heads that yes, he is in fact still alive. Hm?"

A couple of chuckles, a sigh from Reighn, and an amused humming sound from Jade were my replies.

By the time we landed, Guy and Noelle still hadn't joined us, so I powered down the Albiore II and left. We could all gather up again later...

Asch and I stopped in the temple, mostly because Saphir and Myre were here, and I walked over to look at the screens Saphir had open. Nothing truly interesting, it seemed... And, while Myre was here...

"Did Noir and York's baby happen in your timeline?" I asked.

Myre didn't respond at first. "I... I think Noir was supposed to die at Belkend. She said... they were there looking for you guys, looking for someone to take them to Eldrant. And, the timing's about right for the wave of monsters that mostly destroyed the city. So, if she was there in my timeline, without you, Asch, and Kade to cut through the hordes enough to take most of the force of the attack away... She... She probably died before anyone knew."

"Anyone else we should watch for?" Asch asked. Myre shook her head.

"No. Anyone else important was only six or seven... No. That's not true. Anubia. The circumstances around Emperor Peony and Nephry haven't changed much, if at all. It's possible Anubia could be born still. And if so... Well." Myre stopped here and smiled. "Once the sentiences are sealed, my future will completely cease to exist. Which means... Anubia won't have to be in charge of Eldrant at nine years old."

I smiled right back at her. "See? Screwing things over for the better..." I paused, bit my lip, and let my smile shift into a smirk. "By the way..."

Myre gave me an unamused look. "Oh boy."

"Guy's alive."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I was completely and totally stuck on that scene with Asch and Kairi. Completely. And though I tried to talk it out with Nathan, it didn't work. But then Asch was just like 'get out of the way' and... that scene happened._

 _I can't help it. I love that scene._

 _Even the reiteration of the Robert Frost poem._


	81. Chapter 11-4 Part 81

_-hums happily along to her music as she preps yet another chapter for posting-_

* * *

" _Hey, you didn't have to... uh... Oh... Ah... Did I spend all night down there?" –Guy_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.4 – The End Fights Back  
Part 81**

I wasn't sure if Guy was hiding, or just _really_ felt like reminding himself that he wasn't quite human anymore.

Either way, when Thalassa came flying into my room at four thirty in the morning half-panicking about the man in her spring, I was an odd combination of amused and irritated.

Still...

A yawn, a stretch, and I was up and awake.

"Mema..."

"Shh... Don't wake Asch, sweetheart," I murmured, pulling off the clothes I'd been wearing for the last few days. It had been a while since I'd gone swimming, and really, while we typically left Thalassa's spring alone, as it was rather out of the way, it wasn't like they weren't safe to swim in. The constant cleansing spell that resulted in their glowing meant that the water would be cleaned up again anyway.

So once I was dressed in a swimsuit I'd had stashed in my wing pack for what felt like forever, I grabbed a towel and started walking.

Guy wouldn't drown. He was physically incapable of it now.

I was grateful for the grassy area near the building we'd claimed as ours, because I was still barefoot. I didn't really bother with going to get my shoes, though, as the entire walk to Thalassa's spring would be gentle enough on my feet. I'd certainly walked through worse on Earth.

When I got to the spring, I laid the towel on the boulder Reighn had been sitting on when I'd found him out here and then looked into the clear water.

With the glow from both the spring and Guy's hair, I almost couldn't see him. But the water was beautifully clear, and he was sitting fairly close to the edge, albeit at the bottom of the spring, which, at its deepest point, was about thirty feet down.

Admittedly, if it were any larger, it would be a small lake, but there were larger springs on Eldrant. This one just happened to be out of the way.

Thalassa danced above the water. "He's been down there for almost an hour now, for sure. I think he's been down there most of the night, actually. I hadn't noticed him until a bit ago," she said.

I hummed. "I wonder if he fell asleep..." I muttered. The spring wasn't too cold, thankfully, so I slipped in slowly, and then swam a lap around the edge, making sure my body still remembered how to swim, as it had been at least an Auldrant year since I'd gone swimming just for the sake of it.

Once I'd gotten used to swimming again, I took a deep breath and ducked under the water, swimming down to where Guy was sitting on the bottom of the spring, and tapping his shoulder a few times.

Blue eyes blinked open, and stared at me for a moment.

I waved, and then headed back for the surface, well and truly out of air. I wasn't great at diving. I could swim for a couple hours on end, if no one bothered to drag me out of the water, but I really, really wasn't good at diving.

Which Sync always found hilarious, given my lung capacity...

Guy surface a couple seconds later. "Hey, you didn't have to... uh... Oh." He blinked up at the dark sky. "Ah... Did I spend all night down there?"

I giggled. "Sounds like it. Thalassa came to get me. She just noticed you an hour ago, but given that Reighn was supposed to be checking the moon Energy levels in one of the springs that's stopped glowing last night, and Thalassa's kinda the guardian of all the springs in Eldrant, she probably wasn't here most of the night," I said.

"Nope... But, this is my home, so I always come here in between things," the spirit in question said, dancing around near my head. I grinned at her, and Guy chuckled.

"Haha... Sorry. I just..."

"It's okay. You're still trying to resettle in the present time," I said. "You can get away with it."

Guy smiled. "So... Dare I ask how long you've been up?"

"Eh, Thalassa just woke me up. It's about five," I told him. "So we've got some time before the others all wake up. And I'm going to use it for a rather different type of exercise than I normally do at this hour." That said, I turned and started swimming laps.

Guy started following me after a few minutes, pointing out slight corrections to my form, and I just smiled and accepted the corrections. I could swim, but it wasn't like I got to do it often, and I really did enjoy it.

"You know... I kinda just realized..."

"I'm engaged to Asch. No Rites of Feriyen over here, thank you."

Guy was silent for a moment. "Quick question. How the hell do you know all this stuff?"

"Tales of Legendia. Because why the fuck not, apparently. Also part of why I knew exactly what Undine was calling me the minute she said 'Helkes,'" I replied. I grimaced. "She then proceeded to make me _really_ wince internally by saying that if Kade didn't have so very firm a grip on me and I weren't fire-elemental, she'd have grabbed _me_. Apparently I'd have made a good Merines."

"That's not exactly a bad thing."

"Guy... You kinda have to understand Tales of Legendia to realize why Merines made me flinch," I said. And then I sighed, because there was no way Guy wasn't going to ask.

So I gave up on laps and just floated for a bit, letting the words fall out of my mouth again.

By the time I was finished explaining, we'd left the spring altogether, and I was settled on top of my towel, on top of the boulder.

"I see... I'm not sure whether to be amused or worried about the amount of stories you guys seem to have come up with on Earth. Especially given how many seem to have decided to prove true," Guy said. "Or at least parts... There are mentions in Ferines lore of the Kingdom of Terises, and something about a huge ship, but... At best, those legends were two, three thousand years old."

I hummed. "So it's possible Legendia was part of Auldrant's very distant past," I murmured. "Odd, considering the large amount of differences. Unless the Ferines decided to leave one planet for another. If they'd managed to get the landmass off of the Legacy, they probably could have used that..." I stopped and shook my head when Guy gave me an odd look. "That's beside the point. The fact of the matter is, the Ferines, at least, exist."

Guy nodded. "There should be about two hundred of us, total. A few dozen from Baticul. Undine was able to 'drown' quite a few people before the meltwater from the snow was noticed. Plus a good number more people who were fishing over near Sheridan, a couple people from Kaitzur..."

"Basically, if she could grab them, she did."

"And if their bodies were capable of making the change," Guy muttered. "Apparently she killed a couple people before she figured out how to tell if it was safe to turn them or not."

I hummed.

There was a pause. "I'm surprised you're not making a comment about that."

"She meant well enough. And it's not like it was Baticul."

"True," Guy mused, looking up at the lightening sky. "I think we should probably go see how many of the others are up..."

"You want to go run around, since only about half of us sleep in headquarters nowadays, or would you rather I just laid down a telepathic field, since I can cover all of Eldrant?" I asked.

Guy chuckled. "Well, I suppose there's always that, too."

I smiled and did so.

Asch was awake and headed this way with Reighn. Looked like Dark and Natalia were up...

I smiled a bit more when I realized where Jade was, and left him alone.

I sent a mental nudge to everyone that was up, letting them know where Guy and I were, and could Tear please bring my wing pack, since she was in headquarters.

That last one kinda had everyone headed out toward us, in curiosity, if nothing else. I snickered a bit, and Guy shot me a look. "What did you do?"

"Just told Tear to bring my wing pack, since most of the group's currently on its way out here," I said. "She just happened to still be in headquarters, so..." I shrugged.

Guy shook his head, amused. "You pick the weirdest times to be lazy."

I grinned back, shifted, and pulled my towel around my shoulders. It was just cool enough that I was edging on cold. But Tear would be here with my wing pack soon enough, and then I'd be able to finish drying off and change.

Asch and Reighn were the first two to us, predictably, and Thalassa dashed over to Reighn. "Morning, Papi!"

Asch snorted, the way he always did when Thalassa referred to me or Reighn in such a manner. "I'm glad I'm not the type to get jealous when I comes to my fiancé."

I grinned back. "That, and you've technically got one of your own."

"I really don't think Lloyd's allowed to count. For one thing, I haven't actually met him yet, remember?" Asch shot back. I giggled a bit, even as Thalassa danced over the spring water some more. She really seemed to hate staying still.

"So... Any particular reason why you're out here, at this hour, soaking wet and in a swimsuit, which means this was a _planned_ swim?" Reighn asked. I pointed to Guy, who, thanks to wearing Ferines clothes, which lost water rapidly, and having nice short hair, was already totally dry.

"He fell asleep in the spring, and Thalassa didn't notice until this morning, so she came and woke me up a couple hours ago," I replied.

Reighn blinked, looked at Guy, and then looked back at me. Then he looked at Guy, then the spring.

Asch rolled his eyes. "Given that the literal translation of Ferines is 'people of the water,' honestly, you shouldn't be that surprised that Guy can breathe underwater," he said. Reighn sighed.

"Yeah, but... still. It's kinda... jarring."

Guy hummed. "It took a while to get used to. I'd always react the way you'd kinda expect me to react at first if I was underwater too long, even if I was having no problems breathing. I'd just suddenly realize I'd been under for a long time and needed air, and I'd be halfway to the surface before it hit me that I didn't _need_ to surface for air."

I nodded. That sounded reasonable...

I slipped off the boulder and walked over to Tear, who had stopped and was currently giving me the most baffled look. "Guy fell asleep in the spring and Thalassa woke me up," I muttered, holding out my hand for my wing pack.

She handed it over, walked over to Reighn, and simply stood there for a bit as I wandered into the trees past the spring, changing quickly and walking back with my hair twisted up into a had-been dry towel.

It didn't take too much longer for the awake members of our group to join us, and I was grateful Luke was among them. Because now, even though it was still obnoxiously early morning, we should probably be dealing with something that I'd been putting off for a couple days.

"So... Undine."

Everyone glanced at me as I walked over, once again dressed and mostly dry, though the knotted towel on my head probably looked a bit comical. Sync was snickering, at least.

"What about... oh wait a sec, we're trying to get the sentiences sealed again, aren't we?" Guy asked. I nodded, sat down on a different rock—the first one was nice and wet still—and tapped a finger against my crossed legs.

"We met up with Undine at Tataroo Valley. There's a Ferines village up there, by the way, that she's been fixing up," I started. "This would have been when the whole Helkes and Merines thing came up. Anyway... She left after saying she wouldn't be sealed... But she added something only for me. Not until a Ferines stood as Clan Head. And..." I glanced over at Luke.

"Gardios is _your_ Clan, Guy," Luke said. "You're my brother, but..."

Guy blinked a couple times, frowned, and then his eyes widened as he looked over at me. "I was still in the past when you guys reestablished the Clans." I nodded. "Which means as far as the registers were concerned... Oh. Guess I really kinda did die, huh?" he murmured. "So..."

Reighn groaned. "This is a pain in the ass. There's not exactly a precedent for Clan Heads dying and then coming back to life."

I smirked, slipping half onto the second plane. "Oh yes there is."

"No there isn't."

"I'm sorry, did you miss the Monolith of Syal blowing up?"

"That doesn't count."

"It counts more than Guy's case. Yes, you guys knew I'd be coming back. We didn't know _he'd_ be coming back. But he never actually _died_. Taken, not killed," I shot back. "What happened at the monolith... I _died_. Really, actually died. And if Doppel hadn't known it was coming, had been, say... driving somewhere when I snapped back? I very well could have died back on Earth, too."

Jade crossed his arms. "The Clan registers still listed you as the Clan Head."

"You and Seth both acknowledged me as such, and you very firmly abdicated," I replied. "Also, ya'll should really look at the second plane more often."

There was a pause, and then Dark tilted his head to the side. "Oh."

I snorted, and gave Luke a knowing look. He smiled a bit.

"Guy. Are you still willing to act as the Clan Head of Gardios?" Luke asked. Guy nodded.

"I am," he said. Then he kinda shifted, looking like someone had just punched him, albeit lightly, and I smirked. Because I'd _seen_ that Energy shift.

"Ta-da. Problem solved. Can we go find Undine now?"

Asch reached over and smacked me, and Dark blinked. "Wait, that Energy jump was..."

"The seal. Pay attention to the Energy flows between all our Energy Cores," I said. "It was there before Eldrant rose, it was just a lot fainter before and I didn't realize what it was at first."

I stopped rather suddenly, and shot Thalassa's spring a worried look.

The fact that Thalassa squeaked and rushed over to half-hide behind me told me that I was correct.

I slipped off the rock and nudged Jade. I'd been more than willing to let him laze around with Cantabile for a while, but unfortunately, it seemed we'd need him fairly soon.

Because I was right, and that _was_ Undine forming up out of the spring water.

Just brilliant...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So Guy fell asleep in Thalassa's spring._

 _This... somehow became a recurring theme. Like, WTF?_

 _On another note, Kairi waking Guy up is now on my list of things to draw._


	82. Chapter 11-5 Part 82

_-still happily humming along to her music-_

* * *

" _How do you humans put this... Oh yes. Shut up." –Undine_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.5 – The End Fights Back  
Part 82**

Undine looked at us with something similar to surprise, and then glanced around a bit, eyes lingering on the glowing water and the faintly-glowing flower petals of the flowers on one edge of the spring.

Then she glanced around the rest of us again, and I crossed my arms, forcing myself to relax a bit, seeing as she was giving us a rather deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Good morning."

Someone facepalmed. "Good morning?" Dark muttered.

"Well, it is," I shot back irritably. "Or was, at least."

Undine blinked at me a couple times, and then shook her head, apparently deciding not to question my sanity. Wise of her.

"Uh... why are you here, exactly?" Asch managed to ask, without sounding totally rude.

"If I were looking for Orerines, I'd have looked _elsewhere_ ," Undine half-snapped back.

So it was Guy she was here for. And it looked like he'd realized it too, as he'd gotten to his feet and walked over to her.

Her open frowning had me worried, though, until her eyes widened. Something had confused her, but...

Oh. Right.

Gardios held the seal on Sylph, so the seal snapping into place with Guy had forced his elemental alignment back toward wind a ways. Not enough to dethrone the water element—I had a feeling that would be impossible at this point—but enough for her to notice.

She crossed her arms, sighed, and shot me a sour look. I crossed my arms and shot her a look right back. "Gardios has guarded Sylph's seal since the six of you were sealed the first time. Don't give _me_ that look."

"This _complicates_ things," Undine complained. I raised an eyebrow.

"I hate to say it, but the rest of us here are mortal, with the exception of Thalassa. Mortals do tend to complicate things, whether we like it or not."

"If I ever wished to know what a being born of Kade and Ifrit would be like, I think the question has been answered," the blue-haired woman grumbled. "How do you humans put this... Oh yes. Shut up."

Cue lots of snickering.

"Good luck. _We_ haven't gotten her to do that yet," Dark said.

Undine sighed again. "Still, that makes things difficult. His elemental affinities are _off_ from what I need, and _you_ ," she shot Reighn an annoyed look next, "have _too_ much water."

Reighn looked confused. "Um..."

I grimaced. "Guy's elemental affinity was wind before Chesedonia. It's still fairly strong, stronger after the seal was transferred from Luke back to him, but that doesn't change the fact that he's now very distinctly _water_ elemental. And you, Reighn, are almost purely water elemental. Undine throws any _more_ water at you the way she did Guy, she'll kill you from an Energy imbalance."

"Is that what killed them...?" I heard her murmur. I sighed.

"If you're looking for another Clan Head to poke, I'd say Tear. But she's—"

"Fende, and if I'm feeling this web correctly, no longer holding Shadow's seal. Lorelei's, instead," Undine cut in. She gave Tear a considering look, even as Tear and Reighn were both giving me annoyed looks. "Though Helkes is right. You would do well for what I need." She looked like she was lost in thought for a long while.

"Oh bother. This couldn't have waited another hour?"

I glanced over at Jade as he walked over, wearing the black, long-sleeved shirt and pants he usually wore under his military uniform.

"It might have," I replied, even as Undine finally seemed to make up her mind.

"I'll apologize to Lorelei later," she said. "You want me sealed, and I need a Merines."

Which was about all the warning any of us got before Undine _moved_ , grabbing Tear and quite literally tossing her in the water, before splashing into the spring herself.

I crossed my arms as the slight whirlpool Undine had caused ended, leaving the spring looking no different than it had twenty minutes earlier. "I'm not sure whether to feel sorry for Tear or Undine."

"What do you mean?" Guy asked, being about the only other person not alarmed by the recent sequence of events. I shrugged.

"I get this impression Undine was focused on just sending people to the past for a while there, and then turned around and started dragging them back to the present once she was done rebuilding the Ferines village in Tataroo Valley. And what she just said, that she needs a Merines, tells me she was probably planning on choosing _you_ for that job," I explained, pointing to Guy and noting that everyone had quieted down to listen to my ramble. "You already said it was disorienting being sent to the past for _years_ and coming back a month after you'd been taken. How do you think Tear's going to feel? She'll likely be returned within a couple hours, at the most."

Guy winced. "Ouch. Yeah, that's gonna be disorienting."

"Why are you feeling sorry for Undine, though?" Sync asked.

I sighed and looked at the water, Thalassa hovering over my shoulder. "It's gotta take a lot of energy to send someone three thousand years or more in the past and then drag them back to the present."

"Did you have to basically volunteer Tear, though?" Reighn grumbled.

"I was actually a bit surprised she didn't grab Tear back at Tataroo Valley."

"You're not helping things," Reighn said irritably. I hummed.

"You might want to move."

"Huh? Gyah!"

And, cue more snickering, because now Reighn was soaked, and Tear and Undine were giving him twinned confused looks.

"Maybe I should have phrased that better," I said, still laughing through the sentence.

Reighn glared and flicked his dripping wet arms my way. I didn't bother to dodge—I hadn't toweled off real well, so I was still damp from my earlier swim in the spring—though Asch did.

Tear looked amused. "I'm going to guess we haven't been gone long."

"'Bout three minutes," I said. "You need a couple to straighten things out in your head?"

Tear smiled. "That'd be appreciated."

I nodded and settled in for a wait, while everyone else short of Guy just looked baffled.

Probably by Tear's change in outfit. Or just the general confusion of 'what the heck is going on' that seemed to be the signature of the moment.

"I suppose now would be a good time to admit that I'm willing to be sealed."

There was a pause as everyone except Tear, Guy, and I looked at Undine in shock. She glanced over at me after a moment. "Are you just _that_ strange an Orerines?" she asked.

I shook my head, stopped, nodded, then shook my head again. Then I sighed. "Okay. Obviously a straight yes or no isn't going to work." Sync snorted. "Yes, I'm a strange Orerines, but that has nothing to do with why I'm not surprised. And if Asch, Sync, Jade, and Dark actually took a moment to think about it, they'd probably figure it out too."

Another pause, wherein everyone just looked at me confusedly.

"Oh!"

And now all attention was on Asch, who'd finally figured it out. "Water is _balance_ ," he said after a moment. "We've already sealed more than half of the other sentiences, and remember what the big problem with the seal they used three thousand years ago was?"

"They had to either seal _all_ of them, or none of them, or there'd be an imbalance," Jade realized. "And we don't really have a choice now, either. The seal itself is built to _balance_."

I nodded. "Reighn's already kinda covering north, so..." Reighn flipped me off, and Tear sighed, trying and failing to hide the fond exasperation. Looked like she'd lost a lot of her emotionless mask while in the past.

I walked over to my space and waited for the others. Jade and Tear slipped into our 'line,' and then the others simply fell in around us as Energies started gathering up.

Undine eyed us warily, but stayed put, and I offered up a smile, even though Guy looked a bit concerned as well. Luke may have explained the circle as quickly as he could, but...

I tapped Guy telepathically, and he accepted the channel gratefully, not wanting to accidentally screw this up. I understood the feeling, even if I wasn't all that worried.

Within moments, we had Undine sealed, with minimal restrictions. It wasn't tied to Tear, but to Reighn, which Undine had expected. Still, having both Guy and Tear in the middle of things seemed to calm her down greatly as the entire thing happened.

Like with Shadow and Ifrit, she also immediately retreated from us the moment the seal had been made.

I sighed as she vanished into the water again. Well, now that that was done... "Does anyone remember where Tear's supposed to be today?" I asked. "Because I was supposed to have a day off, but she can have it instead."

"You don't have to—" Tear started.

"Tear... You were gone for what felt like minutes to us, but I've already noticed quite a few differences that have nothing to do with your outfit. Take today to re-familiarize yourself with this time period. I can handle your shift wherever the heck you were supposed to be sent. Unless they really desperately needed a healer there, and then we're gonna have to do some shuffling, because I don't think anyone wants me to attempt healing artes," I said.

Asch chuckled. "Yeah, no, let's pass on that," he agreed, before looking at Tear. "She's right, though. It's a bit less noticeable with Guy since he was gone for a month, but..." He shrugged. "Take a day or two to remember the timeline, and we'll send you back out afterwards."

Tear offered up a small smile. "Alright. I'm obviously not going to win an argument against the both of you."

I snorted. "No, no you're not."

Asch reached over and smacked me, only to get a raised eyebrow from me.

"I think Tear was supposed to be in the group headed to St. Binah today," Reighn said. "I know Myre's in that group."

"So am I," Dark said. "So now it's... what? Me, Myre, Kairi... There should be a fourth. Swear we're always working in fours these days..."

I shook my head. "No, today's groups should be threes. We do keep switching back and forth here lately. So if it's me, Dark, and Myre, we've got everyone. Guessing that Myre's going to be the one taking us. Alright."

I waited with Dark for Myre to wake up, letting her know where we were telepathically and warning her of the change in plans.

She took it all in stride, and had shown up and teleported us to St. Binah in minutes. I shot Dark a look, as he was the group leader for the day, and he sighed. "You two go ahead and start with the patrol," he said, turning to head for the military headquarters.

I nodded and headed off, Myre on my heels. First job was always patrol. Then checking on repairs. Other things came after, if we had the time for them.

"So... given what Undine's been up to here lately," I started after a while, getting quite sick of the silence. That, and I had a question I really wanted answered now. "Do you think she might have been trying to rebuild the Ferines in your timeline, too?"

"I'd never heard a thing. Undine seemed pretty damn set on just killing us all," Myre replied as we patrolled outside St. Binah's walls. I shrugged.

"Then I guess we'll have to ask Guy about it later, see if he knows how or why it changed," I replied. "Because I see monsters. Thankfully not a massive amount, but..." I trailed off, shrugged, and took off running.

Myre huffed. "You're a pain in the butt, you know that?"

I smiled, Silver Clematis in hand as I started taking out the monsters. "Yes, I know." The minute the monsters were gone, I stopped, sighed, and looked around. "I wish we knew where Gnome was. We've got Undine sealed now, so I..." I paused, feeling a headache coming on rather suddenly. Which could only mean one thing. "Rem," I warned Myre, knowing I couldn't fight Rem off properly on the first plane.

Myre turned and very obviously offered a piggy-back ride. We needed to get back to the city, and then we needed to get Dark, at least.

I slipped only halfway into my mindscape, trying to keep Rem from doing too much damage, but then with what might have been a startled yelp on my part, I found myself falling.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _I hit the water hard, and screamed. Not in fear, but in frustration. That was probably not the brightest idea, as the abyss in my mindscape was water, and it gave me the impression of having just let a large amount of water into my lungs, but..._

 _I headed up, and as my head broke the surface, I 'spat' all the 'water' back out and managed to get a grip on the barrier, hauling myself up and then scowling around._

 _Well._

 _This wasn't good._

 _Rem smirked from her little 'island,' which happened to be all that remained of my mindscape._

 _Luckily, I'd gotten so damn used to her tearing my mindscape apart that it didn't really leave me as incapacitated as it should._

" _You know, normally, this is about where I would shove you back out," I started, enjoying watching the smug smirk slipping off Rem's face as I stalked toward her, drawing myself back up mentally. She took a half-step back, eyes darting around the rapidly-expanding landmass, and then tried to flee the minute one of the animal skeletons emerged._

 _My mindscape seemed to shatter then, even if all that was truly left was the abyss and the not-much-enlarged spit of land Rem stood on._

 _It was more than enough. Perhaps I wasn't the best at keeping my mindscape whole, but I knew the theory to forcing what was basically a coma-like state on my mind. The result was something that looked like one of those mirror houses at the circus, except with less mirrors and a lot more fire._

 _There were enough mirrors for the reference to stick, though, because I couldn't even tell, myself, which images were reflections, which were reflections of reflections, and which were real._

 _Rem froze, looking at the odd landscape that had formed up around us, and I walked over to her and looked down at the girl in the white dress. Wide, terrified pale gold eyes looked up at me. I couldn't resist the urge to smirk, even as Rem took two steps back._

" _You... You'll kill us_ both _!" Rem squealed. I hummed._

" _Maybe. Assuming Dark can't find us."_

" _He'll kill himself trying!"_

" _You don't know that," I said, calm as Tataroo Valley._

 _Rem swallowed. "You're bluffing. You're_ bluffing! _"_

 _I snorted. She wished._

" _Checkmate."_

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I feel like Undine decided to hijack Milla's personality. I mean, it_ fits _her, but... still. And then we've got Kairi once again proving that her mind is a very dangerous place to linger. Note—do not invade Kairi's mindspace._


	83. Chapter 11-6 Part 83

" _Chase after the dream, don't chase after the money~"_

 _(Don't mind me singing 'No Such Thing As A Broken Heart'...)_

* * *

" _If anybody ever gives you shit about getting stuck in a girl's body that week in Aramis Spring, send them my way. Oh, and I might be killing your fiancé for talking me into this." –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.6 – The End Fights Back  
Part 83**

 **Dark's POV**

I need to stop taunting fate. Really.

First Undine had shown up, and we'd gotten to seal her without any problems and all, and then I'd found out that there was far more structural damage in St. Binah than we'd initially realized, and the Soil Tree was starting to lean, as one section of the ground had fractured in such a way that its roots were no longer holding firm there.

I worried about it falling a bit, because if it did... well.

Myre's future wasn't going to come to pass. Not completely. But the Soil Tree meant a lot to her family, and I knew if it fell, that would be even more damage that we'd have to repair, plus St. Binah would be short one Soil Tree.

But I'd started hoping that would be the worst news I'd get for the day.

And then Myre came back in with an unconscious Kairi on her back, and I knew things had either just gotten massively worse, or maybe we'd just gotten lucky and would be able to manage a second sentience today.

I actually doubted that. I was still tired from sealing Undine, and Reighn's part of the seal on her had to finish settling, which would take a couple _days_.

So maybe hope that the monsters got a jump on them?

"Kairi said Rem was after her again."

...Or not.

I took a deep breath and let it out in a single, continuous groan-growl that basically meant 'fuck'.

Myre looked like she agreed wholeheartedly.

"Let's get her to the inn," I said, already turning and walking off. "I'll see if I can help. She's not bleeding again and I'm assuming that was a good five minute walk back in, so she's probably either struggling, or up to something. Either way, I'm going to have to go see what all the fuss is about."

Myre sighed just behind me. "Great. Not what I wanted to hear... Why does Rem have to be such a pain in the ass?"

"Because Undine was nice and cooperative, that's why." I held the door open and shot a look at the innkeeper, who, familiar with our entire group now and knowing full well what we were doing, simply tossed me a key. I checked the number and headed for the right room, opening that door for Myre as well.

The two of us got Kairi laid down on one of the beds, and then I flopped into the second one and closed my eyes.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _Eraia was waiting for me when I appeared in my mindscape, and I focused on finding Kairi's. Hers always, without fail, had a gateway in one of the caves hidden behind the waterfalls, so it surprised me when, for once, the gateway seemed rooted somewhere under the water of a lake._

 _I glanced at Eraia, who seemed equally baffled by this turn of events, but both of us jumped in anyway, and I was grateful it wasn't a real lake._

 _With as much snow as covered my mindscape, it would be freezing cold if it were._

 _The two of us emerged out of a very familiar-looking abyss, but it wasn't the one from_ my _mindscape, it was Kairi's._

 _It only took me a few glances to realize that something was horribly, terribly wrong, and something Kairi had said to me weeks ago, before Reighn had woken up, echoed in my mind._

"Don't try to go into Reighn's mindscape to pull him out. When we're in comas, our minds... they _shatter_. They become mazes, almost utterly impossible to get in or out of, even for us. Throwing an unknown into the mix, an intruder..." _She'd stopped here to shake her head._ "It's a death sentence. You try to get into his mind right now, you'll ensure _neither_ of you will ever wake up."

 _Glancing around, noting the abyss, the barrier now keeping me out even though this wasn't_ my _mindscape, the way the world seemed to have been built by mirrors and sheets of glass..._

 _I swallowed. I should have checked her Energy Core first. I should have made sure she was actually, consciously_ fighting _._

" _We're trapped,"_ _Eraia said, unnecessarily._ _"Or at least, there's no coming back the way we came."_

 _I clenched my fists. Yeah. So now what?_

 _One of the mirrors rippled, and to my shock, Kairi stepped out of it. "There you are."_

 _I blinked a few times._

" _Relax. I'm not in a coma. I've managed to twist my mindscape up to mimic one, though," she started. "Anyway, you need to focus on finding someone else so your Talent can get you out. I think... Hm, it should be nighttime in Daath, and they seem to be living on Daath time, so see if you can find Lloyd or Danté. That'll drag you out to the TimeStream, but from there you can get back to your own mindscape."_

 _I held up my hands and shook my head, because... "Hold up, slow down. What do you mean 'Talent'?"_

 _Kairi sighed. "Well, it'll be a couple days before I can let Rem go to seal her, so I suppose I can afford to explain things," she muttered. "And by 'Talent' I mean the same sort of ability I have with my telepathy and the timing. Yours seems to be for finding the pathways between mindscapes. Or at least, that's what Doppel could tell."_

 _I blinked a few times, then decided not to question it too much. It would probably be bad for my mental health. "Alright. So... You think I might be able to use that to get back out of your self-built prison here?"_

" _Yup. Just make sure Rem doesn't follow you. Oh, there's an idea. Find Rem's mindscape. Maybe you can figure out where her body is." I glared at Kairi for getting distracted again, and she winced. "Or not. Up to you. Anyway, yes, it should work. And if you feel like you need to go through one of these annoying mirrors, just kinda push against it. I'll feel, so I can let you through."_

 _I nodded. "Okay, next question. You're sure you can hold Rem for two days?"_

 _Kairi smirked. "Oh, yes. Right now she's still curled up in a ball on what little land she left when she was trying to tear my mindscape apart before I did_ this _."_

 _I blinked a few times, then shuddered. "You are a terrifying woman." I wanted out of here. And, figuring out where Rem was sounded like a good idea._

 _I felt a very definite pull that I knew, instinctively, led_ out _of Kairi's mindscape, and crossed my arms._

 _Huh._

" _Okay. You win. It's a Talent."_

 _Kairi snickered and then melted back through the nearest mirror._

" _...I never want to see a mindscape like this again,"_ _Eraia decided._ _"Let's go."_

 _I nodded and started following that pull. Sure enough, I encountered a lot of obstacles. Whether they be mirrors, slides that would send me a ways further into Kairi's mindscape—oh gods get me_ out _of here, it got worse further in!—or panes of glass, if I simply stayed there for a few minutes, the obstacle would either vanish or become passable in some way, shape, or form._

 _I was never so grateful to find the hole between mirrors as I was when I finally found the path I was looking for, and I grabbed Eraia and jumped through._

 _I landed in clear water, and it took Eraia and me a moment to get both of us to the surface and then the beach nearby. Once we were on land, I looked around._

 _Beautiful, clear water, white-golden sands, unfamiliar trees, a series of what looked like treehouses..._

 _And the sunlight. So bright and clear, like it always was in my own mindscape. Perhaps even warmer._

 _Okay. I could believe this was Rem's mindscape._

 _Now what?_

 _Eraia's ears flicked around._ _"You don't think fire-fur meant for you to take control of her body, do you?"_

 _I stared at her for a moment, then glanced around. That... actually made sense, really. "Not permanently. Long enough to trap and seal her, though... Yes, that I can see."_

" _You seek the deep part, then. With bright-light trapped in fire-fur's mind, her own should be open,"_ _Eraia said, sounding decidedly uncomfortable._

 _I sighed. "I know you don't like it. I don't really like it either. But we can't let Rem keep invading our mindscapes."_

 _Eraia nodded._ _"I know. Go. I'll return to your mindscape to keep it safe,"_ _she said._

 _I hummed back and then started walking. The deepest part of Kairi's mindscape was an old, ruined castle, near-impossible to reach, where she could hide away from the world. In mine, it was a mountaintop where, despite the nighttime in the immediate area, I was never found wanting for light, whether it was the aurora that lit up the sky or the simple, ambient glow of the area._

 _So. Rem's mindscape. The spot I wanted was probably somewhere bright, and hidden deep within this island._

 _I must have spent three hours scouring that island, before I stopped right where I'd started and looked out over the water._

 _It was odd, because the island felt like it was the entirety of Rem's mindscape. So where..._

 _Wait a minute._

 _Kairi's haven was withdrawn from the fire, but with a perfect view of it. Mine was in an area of nighttime, but with plenty of light..._

 _I started looking around, and spotted what looked a bit like a hole in the wall. Could that be...?_

 _I headed into the hole, and knew I'd found the right place, because I could feel the mindscape around me trying to push me out._

 _I side-stepped, twisted, and managed to slip through the invisible barrier trying to keep me out._

 _The cavern I emerged into was beautiful. Glowing roots hung down in, almost hiding the pinpricks of light that could have been stars, had I not been underground. A small spring took up a part of the mindscape, and this, too, was glowing, just as the springs in Eldrant glowed._

 _And here... here I could_ feel _Rem._

 _Not just her body, curled up in a ball and hidden, but her mind, trapped in Kairi's, and panicking, because she can feel me here just as surely as I can feel her there._

 _I closed my eyes and_ felt... _Reaching, relaxing, and pulling even as I did..._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

And I woke up feeling very much _off_.

I blinked a few times, recognizing the area I was in as a plateau in the Meggiora Highlands. So, this was where Rem hid. Fitting enough, given where the monolith holding her had been.

I took a deep breath, fought off the awkwardness of being in a body that was utterly _wrong_ , and stood. Carefully. Because those boots had some heel to them that I hadn't expected.

Okay. This was a pain in the ass.

But... And this was the really neat part. I could feel everything, if I focused on it. The light touching the plateau, reaching further down, where the light ended...

I stopped tracking the light and simply focused on moving around a bit for a moment, only to stop when Gnome phased out of the earth.

He looked over at me and crossed his arms. "Undine has been sealed."

I scowled. Okay. Rem's supposed to be a major brat, so... "What do you want me to do about it?" Oh gods Gnome's gonna kill me... "That Otherworlder's a pain. I can't get around her."

Gnome started pacing, apparently happy enough to not really pay attention to me, and I started focusing on the memories Shadow had shown us. How had he done the teleporting thing, again?

"Vhat vorries me is that she did not seem to put up a fight to the sealing," Gnome started. "And vhy do you keep attacking the Othervorlder? Ve know she is strong enough to counter you. Vhy not the princess' soldier or one of the others?"

"It's not like I can just enter whichever mind I want," I shot back. "The Otherworlder's mind is broken, imbalanced, and that assassin's got something hanging around. But they both know how to counter me, or at least not _die_ like they're supposed to."

Gnome growled out a few curses. Then he paused and growled again. "What about the green-haired replica? The one I was controlling?"

I was fairly sure I'd figured out how to teleport now, so I didn't hesitate to reply. "With the way the Otherworlder seems to care for him, I don't think that would work either."

Gnome turned around slowly, eyes narrowed. "Vhere is Rem?"

I blinked, like I was confused. Which, to be honest, I kinda was. All of the sentiences had monsters, wouldn't they all be able to understand monster languages?

"Vhere is she, Shadow?!"

I crossed my arms and dropped the 'bratty little girl act.' It had been a pain in the ass, anyway. "I'm not Shadow."

"Yva, then."

"No, not her either." I tilted my head to the side. "Honestly, Rem _really_ should have stopped going after Kairi. Kairi is _very_ good at what she does. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm really, _really_ getting sick of being in a girl's body."

The earth roared under me, but I was pulling on the light and _gone_ before Gnome could actually catch me.

I was grateful that my aim wasn't too far off when I landed next to Thalassa's spring.

"Holy shit!"

I glanced over at Asch and Sync, and tilted my head to the side. "Hey, Asch?"

There was a pause as the two of them gave me the oddest looks ever.

"If anybody ever gives you shit about getting stuck in a girl's body that week in Aramis Spring, send them my way. Oh, and I might be killing your fiancé for talking me into this."

Sync blinked. "...Dark?"

I nodded. "Someone wanna go round up the other Heads? Oh, and get Kairi and my body. We're at the inn in St. Binah. Oh, and be wary of Gnome. He knows Rem isn't, well, Rem."

Asch fell over, and Sync's attention turned from me to him.

Then Sync busted up laughing, and I could guess what had just happened. "So where are the others?"

"Guy's with Jade in Belkend, I'm here, I think Hue went to Yulia City with Lorelei since we haven't heard anything out of them... Tear and Reighn are here, though."

"I'll get the two in Belkend," I decided.

Sync snickered a bit more. "You do that. I'll tell Asch to get Tear and Reighn and have Lorelei come back... when he wakes up, at least. And I'll go tell Myre to bring you two back."

I rolled my eyes, pulling together the sixth fonons I needed to get to Belkend. "Yeah. Good idea."

I still couldn't believe Asch had actually _fainted._ Dork.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Two things._

 _First, Rem's mindscape somehow ended up being Destiny Islands from Kingdom Hearts. O.o_

 _Second, Gnome's speech in liger doesn't have a German accent._

 _Just a couple interesting tidbits..._


	84. Chapter 11-7 Part 84

" _I don't dance, but here I am, spinnin' you 'round and around in circles~" -pauses- Huh. Oddly, that fits Jade and Cantabile rather well... ('I Don't Dance', Lee Brice)  
_

* * *

"Kinda hard to. Our family tends to come after us if we _don't_ go back."

* * *

 **Chapter 11.7 – The End Fights Back  
Part 84**

 **Dark's POV**

Rem was sealed, I was back in my own body, Kairi was awake, and I was never, ever, _ever_ doing that again.

Kairi found my loud insistence amusing, apparently, but...

"You said... she was in the Meggiora Highlands?" Kairi asked me as we once again found ourselves standing around on the temple-roof-turned-Albiore-landing-spot. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure there were Monolith shards visible down below, too."

There was a moment of silence.

"Why would Rem go back to the monolith that sealed her?" Jade asked. "It doesn't make sense."

I leaned back against a column and glanced around, noting mostly confused faces, but Kairi...

"Actually... It does."

All eyes shifted to her, and her grim expression turned into tightly-pressed lips.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember Shadow's memory of his sealing? What Yda asked him? 'Where do you call home, brother?'"

There was a moment of silence, and I took a deep breath. "The Meggiora Highlands are Rem's home."

Kairi nodded. "And that's why she keeps going back, even though she's now got the less-than-pleasant memory of being sealed there to contend with." She looked around, eyes catching on the other Clan Heads. "I think we need to take another trip to the Monolith of Syal."

Reighn crossed his arms. "Gnome wasn't there before, but then, he was trying to free the rest of the sentiences, anyway."

"One of the Council stashes is near there, too," Ryndor said.

"Is that the one I was being kept at after Danté shot me in Grand Chokmah?" Kairi asked. Ryndor nodded.

"Should be. By the way, I'd been meaning to ask, and had completely forgotten, but how the hell are you even walking?"

Kairi grimaced. "Ah... A lot of Energy reinforcement and a knee brace, on occasion. It's not been hurting too badly since you dragged me back by force, but I haven't looked too much into it. It still aches on occasion, though."

Ryndor hummed. "A shot like that would have shattered the patella, wouldn't it? And I know Star said it wasn't healing..."

Shattered the—oh he hadn't.

"He aimed directly for the joint, didn't he?"

Ryndor nodded. "The point was to incapacitate, not kill. That you were able to outrun him four weeks later is a miracle."

Kairi smirked. "I may have also blinded him. Sunbursts are good for that, and light-elemental or not, bright flashing lights do wonders when trying to escape someone."

A few people chuckled. Asch rolled his eyes.

I just crossed my arms and shot Kairi's knee a worried look. "It explains a lot of why you kept limping when you first met up with us in the Cheagle Woods, though. And why it was bad enough that you gave in and let Jade carry you," I said. "When you said Danté wasn't gentle... well. That wasn't exactly what I was thinking of."

Kairi sighed, looking a bit irritated. "So, anyway, Gnome."

And, back to the subject at hand.

"I think Kairi's got the right idea," Sync said. "I... I remember most of what happened while I was under Gnome's control. Some things are fuzzy. But I've got a lot of flashes of being in that clearing. Apparently if I was too emotional he'd shove me down further, so..."

So it was a good sign that we were on the right track.

"Alright. So we're going to go to the remains of the Monolith of Syal and hope that we can corner Gnome somewhere in the area?" I asked. Kairi nodded, as did the other Clan Heads after a moment.

Hue looked... a bit overwhelmed. "Hey, guys... You realize, if we get Gnome now... we're done? We've gotten all the other sentiences already," he said.

Kairi smiled. "Yup."

"I'm either coming with you to the monolith, or I'm taking you," Myre said. Selenia blinked up at her.

"That's sudden. And..." She stopped and looked around. "Well, I guess with Guy the Clan Head of Gardios again, that means Luke doesn't _have_ to go."

I glanced around. Me. Kairi. Reighn. Jade. Hue. Sync. Tear. Guy. None of us were capable of teleporting...

Okay, actually, I lie. Kairi could teleport via miasma, but I'm not sure how safe that is, and... I could still teleport, since I'd either stolen one of Rem's spirit Energies or had picked up another one somewhere in the process, but _that_ wasn't something I wanted to really advertise at the moment.

Myre had that stubborn glint in her eye, but with that grim expression and the odd sense of hopelessness that seemed to surround her...

I worried about her.

Thankful that Kairi had a telepathic field down, I tapped against it.

*Yeah?*

*I think Myre's edging on suicidal now,* I warned her.

*Noted. I'll keep an eye on her,* Kairi replied easily, shooting me a look.

"So, when are we going?" I asked.

Asch sighed. "I guess, whenever you're ready. I'm going to go collect up Emperor Peony and Solace. Cantabile—"

"Don't bother. I put in my resignation a week ago."

Kairi scowled. "What did I say was going to happen with the Commandant position, Asch?"

Asch winced. "Yeah. Okay. I guess the three of us will be waiting for you when you get back."

"Might want to go get Astor as well. And Fallon, as the replicas are going for autonomous status. And Tear, as the Merines, should come too."

Tear just nodded, and I crossed my arms, wondering why, for a moment.

"Uh... Why Tear, exactly?" Luke asked.

Kairi sighed, looking a bit irritated. "The Merines is the leader of the Ferines, and given Undine's insistence on having one of the Clan Heads be Ferines at least, I think she'd appreciate if the Ferines got a voice in meetings like those, as well. Any other Ferines questions while we're here? Because I'm really getting sick of repeating myself."

Guy chuckled. "Let's go get Gnome. Then you and Tear can go deal with the politics and I'll see what I can do about getting something written up. The Ferines have been gone for three thousand years, the fact that they've suddenly reappeared, and also considering _how_ they came back... Well. There's probably going to be a _lot_ of people wanting answers."

Kairi nodded. "Alright. You do that." She looked over at Myre, then glanced around at the rest of us. "Anyone need to go get something?"

I shook my head. I didn't...

I glanced at Natalia, and she smiled back before walking over to Asch. It didn't take long for the other Clan Heads to confirm that none of us needed to go get anything, and Myre had us all group around her in the center.

Her teleportation glyph was a familiar light as it enveloped us, and it pulled us to the Monolith of Syal. I waited until the glyph was totally gone before I moved, even as Myre outright frowned at me.

Kairi didn't seem to notice, neither did anyone else, but the fact that Myre was giving me that look in the first place told me that she'd caught what I'd just done.

I did my best not to react, and looked around at the familiar destruction, only for my eyes to catch on Kairi.

Kairi was shaking.

It was faint, barely there, but her hands were shaking, and her eyes were dancing around. I tried to track their movement, and given the layout of the clearing, I thought I could figure it out.

Where Zion had been fighting Sync. Where Rhunön had been guarding her. The monolith, where she'd been tied up to it. Where Danté had come out of the tree line.

I stepped over to her and hugged her. "Shh... it's over. You're alive. It can't hurt you again."

She either didn't hear me, or didn't know what to say in response.

"Shit, Kairi?"

I held on a little tighter and looked over at Sync, who'd been the one to speak. "Mild panic attack. She hasn't actually been back _here_ since..."

Kairi took a deep, shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and let it out, still shaky. "Dark... _back off_."

I let her go and took three steps back, giving her room. Danté. I looked and sounded like Danté.

Another deep breath, and Kairi swayed a little. "Ah... Guys? I... I don't think Gnome's in the area right now... Can... Can you guys give me a little bit? I think I need to go do something," she said, already walking over to a patch of ground that was clear of monolith debris.

"Are you going to be okay to seal Gnome if he shows up right here?" Reighn asked.

Kairi took another deeper-than-necessary-for-speaking breath before answering. "I think so?" She stopped and shook her head. "Danté. Lloyd. I'll be back."

I crossed my arms, watched her lay down and close her eyes, and I bit my lip.

Danté...

I walked over to another open patch and sat down. "I'm going to go with her," I said.

"Great. Yeah. Sure. Fine. What do we do if Gnome shows up?" Reighn grumbled.

"Eraia can come get us," I replied as I leaned back, half falling back and slipping into my mindscape before I'd even hit the ground.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _Following Kairi out into the TimeStream was easy. She moved damn fast when she wanted to._

 _By the time I caught up to her, she wasn't alone, either. The boy she was with was unfamiliar, brown hair and eyes, and about five or six years old._

 _He was asking Kairi if she was sure she was alright when I walked into hearing range, and Kairi smiled._

" _Absolutely positive. We got the nasty girl that did that to me."_

 _Ah. So it had something to do with Rem, I guessed._

 _The boy glanced at me, seeming to have spotted me past Kairi, and he lit up in recognition. "Danté!"_

 _Kairi looked over her shoulder, blinked, snorted, and then busted out laughing. "No, sweetie, that's not Danté. That's Danté's brother, Dark."_

 _The boy blinked at me and frowned. Then, as I joined the two of them next to the little lake they seemed to have claimed, he tilted his head to the side. "You've got long hair and a gold eye. Danté's hair's short. And both his eyes are green."_

 _Kairi nodded. "Yup. By the way, Dark, this is Lloyd."_

 _Ah. That explained a lot._

 _I offered up a smile and sat down next to the lake, amused by the clear water. Just as clear as the water at Eldrant, just... not glowing._

" _Are_ you _okay?"_

" _Yeah, just..." I stopped, bit my lip, and turned enough to look at Lloyd. "How is Danté?"_

 _Lloyd grinned back, and even before the words started pouring out of the boy's mouth, I felt a weight lifted off my chest. "He's okay! I found him in the woods near my house and Noishe really liked him, so Dad let him stay with us for a while, and he helped me with my homework and—"_

" _Breathe, Lloyd," Kairi cut in._

 _Lloyd stopped, frowned, and then looked confused. "...Why...?"_

" _You don't want to get into bad habits here that can try to carry over into the waking world," Kairi said. "You don't really_ need _to breathe here, but you should."_

 _Lloyd nodded and then continued the litany of words, and Kairi and I sat there listening for what felt like an hour, at least._

" _He left about a month ago, though," Lloyd said, suddenly looking upset. "And... I don't know. I kinda get this feeling like he might not come back."_

 _Kairi hummed, adjusted her seating position, and then pulled the boy into her lap. Lloyd yelped in surprise, but the expression on his face when he looked up at her, the wonder and... dare I call that hope? It told me enough._

" _He'll come back, sweetie. He's claimed you as family, in his mind if not out loud, and Daemiones_ never _leave family behind," Kairi reassured him. I chuckled._

" _Kinda hard to. Our family tends to come after us if we_ don't _go back."_

 _Kairi shot me an amused look. "If you don't come back, it means you're in trouble. Danté's_ already _in trouble. I highly doubt he'll get into any more."_

" _What do you mean, he's already in trouble?"_

 _Kairi and I both smiled at the little boy in her lap. "He found you, didn't he? He's in trouble now. He's got family he has to look out for. Dark, Ryndor, and Rhunön can all take care of themselves."_

 _Lloyd ducked his head. "I guess so."_

 _Kairi giggled and hugged the boy a little tighter. "You're adorable, Lloyd. Come on, I think your dad's going to worry if you don't wake up. You said it was already morning when you fell asleep again, right?"_

 _Lloyd nodded, and Kairi helped him out of her lap before she stood up. "Here. I'll walk you back. Dark and I have work we have to get done, and Dirk's going to worry about you if you sleep too long."_

" _Aw... but you just got here..."_

 _Kairi smiled. "I know, sweetie. Maybe once I'm back in Daath we can visit more often."_

 _Lloyd offered up a small smile back as they started walking. "I hope so too."_

 _Kairi giggled and paused, making Lloyd stop as well. "You going to say goodbye to your uncle or not?"_

 _Lloyd blinked at her, looked over at me, and grinned. The hand not holding onto Kairi's rose as he waved. "Bye, Uncle Dark! You'll come visit sometimes too, right?"_

 _I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, kiddo. I'll come visit too. And you better keep my brother out of trouble for me, okay?"_

 _Lloyd giggled and nodded, and Kairi's grin said that she wouldn't have any problems sealing Gnome once we got back._

 _Daath was on the same day schedule as wherever it was that Lloyd lived, apparently. So she probably wouldn't complain too loudly about the commandant position if it meant she got to visit with Lloyd at night._

 _The kid was definitely cute, I decided. And even though he was young, I could see that same sort of determination and kindness that had drawn me to Kairi in the first place._

 _Heh. Yeah, I could see how Danté got involved with him._

 _I closed my eyes and pulled myself back into my own mindscape, and then into my body._

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I sat up and glanced around. No one had really moved much. "So... How long was I gone?"

Myre blinked at me. "About two minutes. Maybe three."

I chuckled. "I love the TimeStream. I think Kairi's gonna come to love it too. Oh, and Lloyd's adorable, and probably going to grow into a slightly-less-sociopathic Kairi."

There was a moment's pause, before Sync snorted. "Well. That explains how he and Danté ended up considering each other family enough for the Clan magic to put Lloyd on the register," he said, utterly amused. "You and Danté are more alike than you seem to think."

I couldn't help smiling.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _And Lloyd has now met Dark. At this point, however, Danté is still running around and—actually, I think he might be in the Asgard Ranch right about now. Hooray for conniving assassins who apparently feel like half-elves. O.o Still trying to figure that one out, but Noishe assures me he feels like a half-elf, so... -shrugs- Whatever. I'm just the scribe.  
_


	85. Chapter 11-8 Part 85

" _Do I make you wanna dance real slow, go flying down a two-lane road~"_

 _(Don't mind me, still singing along to my music... ('Do I Make You Wanna', Billy Currington))_

* * *

" _Well,_ that _stayed under wraps for a grand total of twenty-six hours." –Dark_

" _Questions on terminology when we're not all in danger of_ dying _, dumbass!" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.8 – The End Fights Back  
Part 85**

 **Dark's POV**

Kairi 'woke up' about a minute later, and then stood up, looking around with that look on her face that told me we'd been right to make it as quick as we had—though, really, with the TimeStream being what it was, that hadn't been difficult—because Gnome was probably here.

"Where's that stash, again? Should be north of here, right?" Kairi asked after a moment.

"Yes, why?" I asked. I knew the one Ryndor had been talking about.

"Gnome's there."

Oh.

I bit my lip as the rest of the group started moving, and though I followed... well.

"Ah, guys? I... I want to try to talk to him one more time before we seal him," I finally said.

Predictably, I got a lot of incredulous looks for that.

Kairi just looked... sad. "It's about the pendant, isn't it?"

"Partly," I admitted.

Kairi nodded. "Well, I think you're going to have to lead the way, regardless..."

There was a familiar greeting growl, and Kairi turned around as Twilight came padding out of the woods. "Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you'd disappeared to."

Twilight let out an amused growl. "Been waiting for you to come back to this area again. Smelled you a few days ago, but you must have left before I got to the city. Gnome's here."

Kairi nodded. "That's a large part of why we're here..." She stopped and looked back at me. "Why don't you go on ahead, then, Dark? If Twilight's been keeping tabs on the area, he probably knows the way to the stash."

Twilight nodded to confirm this, and I nodded as well, grateful that she was letting me go.

"Uh, guys? Remember the last time Gnome and Dark had a heart-to-heart ended with Sync under Gnome's mind-control?" Myre piped up.

Sync shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Not true," Kairi said at the same time. "Last time was actually at Fandral. He let both of us go then, and Dark's more than capable of getting the hell outta dodge if there's trouble, so..."

Oh no.

"Uh huh. Because he did a real great job last time. No offense, Sync."

Why am I getting the sinking suspicion...

"So are you going to tell them what you picked up while you were running around in Rem's body, or do I have to?" Kairi asked.

Yeah. Well.

That stayed secret a long time.

Myre gave me an unimpressed look. "So I'm guessing I'm _not_ crazy, and I was right. I _did_ only transport seven people."

Kairi crossed her arms, and I sighed.

"Well, _that_ stayed under wraps for a grand total of twenty-six hours."

Sync snickered. "What else did you expect? Kairi is the queen of anything to do with Energies."

I shot him a sour look, then rolled my eyes and decided to show off.

By teleporting behind him and smacking him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Oh, nice. So we're now up to _how_ many friendly teleporters?" Jade asked.

"Selenia, Myre, Asch, Luke, Lorelei, Shadow, Sylph, Ifrit if it's a single person or a small group containing me, and... Actually, if I'm right, Dark can't take anyone with him," Kairi said.

I frowned. "I haven't actually tried."

"Test it with one of the sentiences later," Kairi told me. "Not one of the humans. I'd suggest Sylph or Ifrit, actually, as Shadow and Lorelei are running around in replica bodies."

I nodded. "Noted. So yeah. I've picked up a second Talent."

"Second?" Guy asked.

"The first was a mindscape Talent. He can find _anyone's_ mindscape. It's really handy..." Kairi stopped, frowned, crossed her arms, and proceeded to practically glare at the ground in front of her. Then she glanced over at me, blinked a couple times, and looked up at the sky.

Then she looked at the monolith shards scattered around, bit her lip, and narrowed her eyes.

I crossed my arms. "Watching you think is amusing, I'll admit, but we can't help solve the problem if you don't speak up."

Kairi stuck her tongue out, then glanced at the crater in the center of the clearing again. "I think... I think Dark and Danté both have Talents, that they'd have gotten at roughly the same time. This is the third or fourth time I've tried to find Danté's mindscape, but every single time has failed. Dark has a Talent for finding people... I think Danté might be shielding against me. Not consciously, but at least one of my attempts to find him should have worked, and nothing has," she said finally. She then sighed. "Which means I'll have to pass a message through Lloyd about the monolith shards. Damn it."

I hummed. "Okay. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, but... Maybe I could try?"

Kairi looked over and nodded. "Yeah, _after_ Lloyd gives us confirmation that Danté's back. If Iselia is on the same timezone as Daath, which makes sense, honestly, then that means that if Danté's _not_ in Iselia, he could be anywhere, and it could be any time." She shifted and looked up at the sky. "Guess it's a good thing you're probably going to be in Baticul. It's only about an hour, two hours' difference."

I nodded. "Alright. So we'll put that on the list of things to do after all the crap is dealt with."

Jade groaned. "Maybe sometime _during_ the dealing with the crap," he said. "We'll be rebuilding, returning refugees, dealing with coronations and promotions and all _that_ lovely nonsense for _months_."

Kairi nodded. "Probably. We're also more than likely going to have to have another peace conference and draw up another one of those damn treaties. Thanks to Undine bringing back the Ferines, the replicas refusing to answer to one of the main three countries, and everything we've had to go through thus far, we're going to have to lay down some lines _somewhere_."

I sighed. "Can I just go talk to Gnome?" I asked. I hated complicated political shit like this. This was the same sort of nonsense that lost Natalia her throne.

Not that Kairi especially wanted it, but that was beside the point.

Kairi nodded, and I started walking off, even as she turned and started scratching Twilight behind the ears again.

Odd. I'd have assumed he'd want to be with the other ligers still. Even if Sorylle had decided to stay, they were mates, and the only reason they'd separated in the first place was because I'd needed a partner and the ligers needed an Alpha.

I had a partner in Eraia, and while I'd never give up the friendship with Sorylle... her place was with her mate and their pack.

Except her mate was _here_.

I brushed it aside as the shack hiding the stash came into view. There were signs on the door of something small with claws having been clawing at it, and I smiled a bit, remembering a little white Aegis cat that Kairi had gotten from Emperor Peony once.

Valkyria. Wasn't that the name Kairi had given her? I remembered that she'd died cushioning Sync's fall. If she hadn't, he'd have hit his head hard enough to kill him, and that... that would have been cruel to Kairi, and Selenia.

I smiled a bit as I opened the shack's door, and glanced around.

First stop, my old room. This was where I'd been taught to be an assassin. Ryndor had trained Danté in the Rugnican Archives, Rhunön had trained me here. Then she'd taken us both back, and Danté had found out about me.

I found the right room and opened the door, glancing around.

The nest of branches in the corner, a nest that seemed to follow me around to all of my rooms, made me smile wistfully. That had been Koran's first proper nest. He'd gotten too big to sleep on my chest at that point.

The shelves weren't empty. I'd filled them, and then left everything here when Rhunön had relocated us. I picked up a few things now, while I was here, and let my hands linger as I picked up a pair of guns.

My first pair of fonic guns... I never used them anymore. The guns, that was. I'd been using the White Lotus chakrams since I'd gotten them.

It didn't take me long to clean out the room and move on, and though I stopped at Danté's room, I didn't actually go in.

Rhunön had never let me enter any room other than my own, and even now, it was hard to force down that little voice that said 'the owner'll be mad at you'.

I found Gnome right where I expected I'd find him, right where I guessed Kairi had been kept for so many weeks. There were torches lit around the room that Rhunön had always used for storage, and from the way the brackets had simply been pulled out of the walls, I guessed Gnome had added them.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe, noting that the man didn't seem to have noticed me yet. I found this doubtful, as the entire base was underground, but...

Gnome let out a breath with a slight humming tone that meant he was irritated, but not surprised. "You vill be standing there for a vhile if you intend to talk me into surrendering."

I shook my head. "No. I don't expect surrender out of you. I just came to talk." I shifted and reached into my pocket, wrapping my hand around the pendant.

"I can feel the others outside."

"I asked them to let me come alone, for now at least."

Gnome was quiet for a moment. "It vas you, vasn't it? The one who took Rem's body."

I nodded. "Yes. Rem attacked Kairi, Kairi managed to trap Rem's mind within her own mindscape, and then she sent me after Rem's body."

Gnome nodded a bit, then stood and turned around. "I do not know vhy you..." He cut off quite suddenly, having taken a step toward me, and his eyes homed in on my hand in my pocket.

I pulled the pendant out and held it out, just enough for the torchlight to illuminate it. It was lovely, really. Golds and silvers, with topaz gems littering it.

Gnome took two steps back again. "Vhere did you get that...?"

I lifted it a little, letting the light shine through one of the larger topazes. There was a symbol carved into that one, what Kairi had said was the kanji for 'earth'. "Shadow said all of you are capable of time travel."

"Changing the past is dangerous," Gnome said. "Bad enough that the ice woman has traveled back just a decade. For one of us to attempt to change something from three thousand years ago..." Gnome stopped and looked away. "I vish I had used that skill to kill Zalan, or Kurai. But I did not, and it is far too late to stop this."

I nodded. "I know. Killing Zalan probably would have solved things fairly well," I admitted. "He reminded me rather strongly of Mohs, at least." I shifted my grip on the pendant, and stopped leaning against the wall.

Gnome narrowed his eyes at me. "I vill ask you again; vhere did you get that pendant?"

I crossed my arms. "Shadow spent most of the decade before being sealed existing in two places at once. Never changing things that would affect the timeline to any significant degree, and never coming in contact with himself," I started. "When he returned to the present, he showed all of us what he had seen..." I stopped and held out the pendant by its chain. "The very last thing that happened before he returned... He watched Anastasia telling you about Zalan's proposal. Watched Zalan congratulate her and be sent away. Anastasia's façade broke before he revealed himself."

Gnome was using a _lot_ of willpower right now, I knew. He wanted to simply reach out and reclaim the pendant, or bury me under six feet of dirt, or both... but he wasn't.

He was shaking. Just like Kairi had been shaking earlier. "You're lying."

I shook my head. "Anastasia asked Shadow to see this returned to you. And from what Kairi's said... It's very much yours."

Gnome was shaking his head right back at me. "That... It was gone, but... Ana..."

I didn't move, simply forced myself to stand there and hold out the pendant.

Gnome took another half step back, and his eyes widened.

My wrist twisted, and the intricate pendant was wrapped up in my hand in seconds, even as I pulled the light around me and teleported back outside, just in time to avoid the stalagmites Gnome had conjured under me.

That was the second time I'd avoided that particular death in that particular manner.

"Well. I'm guessing the talk's over?" Kairi asked.

I shot Kairi the nastiest look I could. "Well. He definitely recognized the pendant as Anastasia's," I started. "But... Are you sure it's—"

The earthquake that started right then had me glancing back at the shack, and I stuck the pendant back in my pocket. "Well I hope Ryndor either didn't actually want anything from in there, or he's willing to dig it out," I grumbled.

Gnome, in his large animal form again, surfaced and snarled at us. "You do not know vhat it is that you possess! And for that I shall kill you, Remling!"

I headed off in the direction of a large clearing. "This way! Too many trees to fight here!" I called over my shoulder.

"Remling?" Reighn muttered even as he followed me.

Kairi growled out a few insults to Reighn's heritage. "Questions on terminology when we're _not_ all in danger of _dying_ , dumbass!"

The only sound, other than Gnome's crashing through the trees and our heavy breathing, was Sync's chuckling.

"You know you're asking a dumb question when Kairi starts insulting you in something other than liger, in the middle of running for our lives," he managed to choke out.

"Sync, stuff a sock in it. Dark, where's—nevermind. Get your asses to the other side of the clearing. Kade's _pissed_. Apparently Gnome insulted him at some point between Kade being sealed and the Clans sealing Gnome the first time."

"Noted," I grunted. "Just... Try not to stab him with a miasma sword again?"

Kairi growled a set of words I was never, ever going to repeat. "No promises."

"Oh dear."

I snorted even as I did as Kairi had told me to do and ran to the opposite end of the clearing. It was sad when one 'oh dear' from Jade could sum up basically everything. And possibly the worst part of the whole thing was that Kairi didn't even stop moving.

One moment, she was running along with us, albeit slower so that we could get past her.

Then she was spinning on her heel, miasma enveloping her.

Kade met Gnome head-on.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I love watching Kairi through Dark's eyes. She doesn't even think about some of the stuff she does sometimes, and he sees it, and just... I dunno._

 _Anyway, yeah. Don't piss off Kade. Kairi is more than happy to let him out to play._

 _(One of these days, she'll summon him_ properly _. That day was obviously not today, however.)_


	86. Chapter 11-9 Part 86

_Updated notes:_

 _Ladies and gentlemen._

 _Four years and thirteen days ago, I began to re-write_ A Ripple in the Abyss _. A month later, the first chapter of this new version was posted. Five days later, my father, the greatest supporter of my writing at the time, died._

 _Today, at 5:47 a.m., I did what I once feared was impossible._

 _I finished writing An Echo through Time._

 _Or, at least, I finished the Main Arcs. Sadly, this means I will not be touching the Ripples Trilogy again until I get to the last few arcs of Book 3 of the Lights Trilogy. But that is beside the point._

 _I FINISHED IT! -does a dance- And in celebration of this, you guys get TWO chapters today!_

 _Okay, ya'll can go read now._

 _Original notes:_ " _I come from the heart of the heartland, where a picture shows where the corn grows, in rows and rows, with summer greens and winter snows~"_

 _(And this one is, like... Perfect. Illinois, Brett Eldredge. Fitting, given I live in Illinois.)_

 _Okay, that'll be the end of the singing. I promise. I need to go separate out Chapters 12 and 13 now. Yay. -half-hearted cheer-_

 _Not... not a happy chapter._

* * *

 _*There's nothing to say.* –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 11.9 – The End Fights Back**

Gnome was done playing nice. If what he'd been doing before could be called 'playing nice'.

Kade and I were working in seamless harmony, keeping Gnome well away from the other Clan Heads.

All of whom, with the exceptions of Hue and Guy, were casting fonic artes whenever they were certain they could land a solid hit on Gnome that wouldn't also hurt me. Something I'd already had to bitch and gripe at them about. Like this, Kade and I were always open to friendly fire. Even if they recognized me as an ally, their artes would harm us.

Which was a large part of why Jade and Dark, at least, were casting and _holding_ most of their artes, before unleashing them on Gnome as soon as they had an opening.

Kade and I kept moving, never once slowing in our dance, even as Gnome's claws aimed mostly for Kade's skull and ribcage. The ribcage more, as that was where I was hanging suspended within.

Gnome ducked under a sword strike, landed a solid hit that had me cringing inside, and then half-tossed us across the clearing, not quite on top of Guy, Hue, and the fonists.

We rolled back to our feet as quickly as we could, but Gnome had already managed to scatter the rest of the group in that time with a line of stalagmites that, sadly, weren't fonic artes.

We ran at Gnome, ducking, spinning, slashing...

I suddenly wasn't alone, as Ifrit, in his full demon form, was right there beside me. The both of us were smaller than Gnome, but with the power Kade had gotten back from reclaiming the pieces of himself that had been sealed away, and Ifrit's determination and fires helping to fuel any fifth-fonon artes behind us...

Kade and I side-stepped a blow and then managed to dance around Ifrit, who was chuckling as we moved. The two of us, and Ifrit... The three of us moved in harmony, and Gnome was growing quite agitated.

Gnome swatted Ifrit out of the air, and threw Kade and I again, far enough that we landed back very nearly in the clearing created by the exploding Monolith of Syal.

 _That_ hurt, and it took us a moment to recover from the shock of the hit.

And then the miasma was gone, and 'we' became 'I' again. I hissed, sat up, and ran a few Energies over myself. Nothing too damaged, just a lot of miasma in my systems again, it looked like.

I managed to get to my feet and started back toward where the fighting had been happening. The noise was enough to draw my attention, at least.

I was waylaid along the way, though, as four eggbears appeared out of the trees, and I stopped. They were barring the way. Gnome knew he wasn't going to win this battle. Not unless he managed to kill a Clan Head. He would be sealed as soon as he was weak enough for us to surround him and get in formation.

I gritted my teeth and summoned Silver Clematis and my standard katana to my hands. The weight difference was annoying... but I needed them both. Because the eggbears' claws were poisonous, and the only thing that worked against them was miasma, or the concentrated and slightly altered version of it that coated Silver Clematis.

Kade, still aching from being thrown, nudged me, and I let the standard katana go again.

In its place was a twin to Silver Clematis. Not a perfectly sturdy creation, but he assured me wordlessly that it would hold for a few days, at least.

I snarled at the eggbears and launched myself into the fight, ducking claws, sidestepping swipes, and all the while slashing into their arms, sides, and in one case, back.

Pure-fonon monsters didn't succumb to the poison as quickly as humans did. I didn't know how long I was forced to dance around the four eggbears before the first finally dropped.

A Guardian's Pain dropped another two, and I managed to slip around the last one and run. They needed me in the clearing. I didn't have time to waste making sure that one would die when the poison ensured it would happen soon enough.

The clearing was just as messy a battlefield as any I had been on in the last three months. Jade and Hue faced off against a group of three eggbears, Hue's shield coming in handy here as Jade fought to cast an arte.

Sync and Myre were handling another group of three. Dark was on his own against a pair, Tear and Reighn were trying to heal while Guy did everything he could to keep those two safe.

Ifrit and Gnome were dueling.

I launched into Dark's battle, as he was the only one fighting alone at the moment, and I figured that as soon as these two were dead, we could help Guy.

"Glad you could drop back in," Dark said, tossing one of his chakrams and cursing when it got stuck in an eggbear's back. I snorted, snagged the chakram with a sword, and rather sloppily flung it back at him. "And since when do you have two of Silver Clematis?"

"The second's a temp," I replied over my shoulder as I cut through the claws of one of the eggbears. "But I didn't have Phaïe's Song. Gave it to Cantabile so she could help get Baticul un-flooded."

"That's not a word, I don't think."

"And I don't really care."

I stabbed the next eggbear hard enough to kill it, and glanced at Dark. "Guy?"

"Hue!" Dark shouted. And it wasn't a reply to me, it was a warning to my lieutenant.

I turned just fast enough to see Gnome's spear shoved through Hue's gut, and for a second, I felt the Energy bonds trying to shatter.

Something pulled on Hue's part of the seal, and then it stabilized again.

Path. Bless his soul, but Ari's replica had just saved us having to find another family to act as a Clan, saved us having to reseal all of the sentiences.

I ran forward, shoving aside the image that was now burned into my mind of Hue's body falling to the ground, discarded like a ragdoll by the raging sentience that may have currently held the face of a human, but who still appeared to be something... _not_ , in my eyes.

Gnome was very much preoccupied now, as I usually only dual-wielded against crowds. Large crowds, at that.

I'd only ever very rarely turned two swords on a single enemy before, and I did so now, driving Gnome away from Hue's motionless body with all the rage of a woman who'd lost too many friends already.

And...

And, I couldn't help it. I'd been holding Lloyd in my lap so very recently in my mind's eye...

The rage I turned against Gnome wasn't my usual burning hatred that left me speechless and utterly murderous.

I couldn't afford to die here. And I wasn't going to let Gnome kill Dark, or Guy, or any of the others, because we all had people to get back to.

Hue had had people to get back to.

My rage had changed, in just those few moments where I'd held Lloyd in my lap, held onto him almost like a lifeline, and hoped and prayed that I was doing the right thing in contacting him.

I had a _son_ to come back to after this.

Gnome had been betrayed, Anastasia had likely been blackmailed, and Hue hadn't deserved to be gutted like a pig.

But life went on whether we were ready for it to continue or not, and the only thing I could do to keep as many people as I could safe, was to defeat this enemy.

I was vaguely aware of the rest of the eggbears being felled. Aware of the barrier of fifth and first fonons that kept Gnome in. Aware of Path appearing out of a portal of darkness, and running over to Guy asking what he could do to help.

But my eyes were for Gnome, and Gnome only.

And Gnome seemed to realize that there was nowhere to run, because he was reacting as any cornered animal will react, by fighting back with all he had.

I bent my left knee, spun, kicked out with my right, and knocked Gnome's feet out from under him, leaving him to go sprawling on the ground.

One sword was buried in the ground at an angle, right near his neck. The other was held in my hand even as I kicked his spear away and watched the hand nearest me warily.

Gnome froze, pinned to the ground.

Dark walked up behind me, and slipped something warm into my hand.

The pendant. Anastasia's pendant, the one made of spirit Energies torn straight from Gnome's very own soul.

I planted the second Silver Clematis in the ground, keeping Gnome's neck trapped. He was weakened by the presence of both Ifrit and Shadow, and he'd pulled some of the second fonons from the eggbears back into himself, so he was likely feeling and fighting off the effects of the poison on my blades.

I knelt next to him. "This is _yours_. It is far past time that it was returned to you," I said, pulling up the memory of Anastasia's reaction to Shadow's presence even as I laid the pendant on Gnome's chest.

"You know... vhat that vas made of... don't you?"

I nodded, and then shoved the Energies of the pendant, the spirit Energies especially, back into alignment... shoving the memory along with it.

Gnome gasped, eyes closing as his head tilted back, and I felt his soul mending itself, even as everyone started to get into position.

Silver Clematis and its temporary twin were pulled free from the ground, even as I walked past Tear and Jade to take my place in the formation. Gnome was lost in the memory for now. I opened a channel with Path, and was immediately hit by his grief.

I pulled on that a bit, then shoved it back along with my own, and a bit of a reprimand.

*Grieve when we return to Eldrant. Not right now.*

Path seemed to understand, and I blessed the replica even as the seal started to form.

Gnome stirred as the seal began to settle, and shot upright, looking very much like he was going to try to escape.

He hissed as the seal clamped down on him, and I knew from the feel of the sealing that he'd been left with few abilities outside of teleporting.

Gnome forced himself to his knees and looked around at us, even as Shadow slipped out of the tree line and walked over. "I'm sorry, little brother."

Gnome looked up at him, opened his mouth as if to speak, and then shut it again, shaking his head. "You couldn't have risked rending the timeline apart," he said. "But..."

Shadow nodded. "I know."

Gnome closed his eyes. "Vill you, or..."

Shadow grimaced and looked away from the man in the center of the circle. Most of the others were frowning, but I knew exactly what the problem was.

"I'm willing to do it if neither of you wants to."

All eyes turned to me in the wake of that statement, and Gnome watched me for a long moment before he closed his eyes.

"Thank you."

The man was gone in the next instant, and I sighed. I didn't especially want to do it either, but...

I'd known this would have to happen sooner or later.

Myre or Selenia. One of them had to go for the timeline to stop trying to tear itself apart.

I walked over to Myre, weapons put away as if I was simply headed over and waiting for her to transport us back.

She didn't react, not outwardly, beyond pulling something out of her wing pack as discreetly as possible.

'I'm sorry,' I mouthed.

She smiled a bit.

Faster than any of the others could react, I had Silver Clematis in hand and had shoved it through her chest.

"Kairi?!"

I pulled the blade free, even as the object Myre had pulled from her wing pack dropped from limp fingers. Her body fell slower, it felt like, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Someone had grabbed me in the next instant, and I knew I was being restrained, even as Sync slipped past me and put two fingers to her neck.

It was no use. Between the stab through her heart and the poison on the blade, there was no chance that Myre could have possibly lived. And Sync _knew_ that.

The look of betrayal he turned to face me with broke my heart, even as I forced myself to swallow and speak.

"Myre or Selenia. One of them had to die to preserve the timeline," I said, voice monotonic even to my own ears.

Shadow was murmuring behind me, and the hands restraining me let go, even as my eyes finally left Myre's face, finally drifted over to the item she'd dropped on the ground.

Her glasses. The glasses Selenia wore right now, one of the arms bent out of shape, one lens cracked, the other missing entirely.

Selenia had died in Myre's timeline. And she hadn't been the only one.

Selenia, Asch, Noelle, Jade, Cantabile, Sync... so many people dead, so little hope left...

Sync finally noticed the glasses, himself, and his hand was shaking as he reached over to pick them up.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, closed my eyes, and pictured Lloyd in my head.

My son. This was for my son, for my brothers, for my fiancé, for the siblings I swore my son would have.

"We should return to Eldrant," Shadow said softly. "And... I think Lorelei will want to give her a proper send-off. The reuniting of the torn timelines has returned our memories of her future to us."

I nodded and stepped over to Ifrit. Shadow was nice and all, but I needed...

Ifrit wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and we were gone in the next instant, reappearing at Thalassa's spring. I laid down a telepathic field with a familiar ease, and was unsurprised when I was able to feel Asch nearby.

I tapped him, then tugged a bit, and he started moving, already headed my way, feeling the grief I was allowing to pour through.

Hue. Myre.

We'd lost two people to this, and one of them...

I would never be able to forget the sight of my blade in Myre's chest. Never.

Asch found me curled into a ball between a couple of rocks. There wasn't much space there, but he managed to squeeze in with me and hold me tight.

*Talk to me, love...* he murmured in my mind.

I laid my head back and shook it. Because really...

*There's nothing to say.*

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Uh... if it can be called 'fun'._

 _This? Myre dying by Kairi's hand? That's been planned out almost as long as Myre has_ existed. _And, yeah, Hue was never meant to survive AEtT. Which was why I was so exasperated at first when Hue stepped up to take over Shadow's portion of the seal on the sentiences. But then I remembered Path, so I gave in and let it happen._


	87. Chapter 12-1 Part 87

_Holy crap. It's over._

 _Or is it?_

 _Total of 14 chapters, folks. Sadly, we still have some loose ends to clean up... (Thankfully, I've at least got it all written now.)  
_

* * *

" _I thought we'd already agreed I was certifiably insane?" –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.1 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 87**

I looked over myself in the mirror. Hair pulled back into its usual bun, bangs not left falling free for once, Order of Lorelei uniform, notably without my usual gloves. I was purposely leaving Asch's promise ring openly visible.

I turned and left the room. We were still at Eldrant for now, but I knew we'd be leaving soon enough. With the fairy springs all around the island and the fact that the land had once belonged to the Gardios family, I had a feeling it was going to become a Ferines haven soon enough.

For now though...

I strode into the meeting room with my head held high, refusing to let the whispers get to me. Word of my killing Myre spread quickly. The reasons spread just as quickly, but for now, I had to put up with the whispers.

Personally, I could care less what they thought.

I'd done what was necessary, and for that, I was grateful.

I sat in the seat reserved for the Commandant of the Order of Lorelei. Cantabile wasn't going to be taking the position back, she'd already told everyone who mattered.

Sadly, thanks to the way the seating arrangement had been designed, this left me sitting completely across the table from Asch, and neither of us looked happy about it.

I looked to my right. Teodoro, who'd been the acting Grand Maestro since Mohs had been removed from the position. And on my left was... Florian.

He blinked up at me, then pointed over to the seat reserved for the representative for the replicas.

Solace blinked at me, too, and I just smiled and shook my head.

Peony was running late, but given that Saphir had been looking for him this morning, I wasn't too surprised...

Tear sat in the seat we'd set aside for the Ferines representative, and Astor sat next to her and on Teodoro's other side.

I crossed my arms and glanced around again. Two seats for Malkuth—one for Emperor Peony, one for a representative of the Malkuth Military that I knew was going to be Jade. Two for Kimlasca, again for the same reasons. General Goldberg already sat next to Asch.

Solace was next to him, and Tear on the other side. One seat each for the replicas, the Ferines, and Chesedonia, as it was an autonomous state.

Three from the Order of Lorelei.

It seemed a bit unfair to me, for the Order to have three representatives when Kimlasca and Malkuth only got two.

Still, I pushed it to the side as Jade and Peony walked in, Jade looking disgruntled and Peony looking utterly smug.

"We're not too late, are we?" Peony asked, smiling as he sat down. Jade sat silently, doing his best not to snap at anyone like it seemed he wanted to.

"Not at all. I think most of us are actually quite early," Solace replied.

I glanced around, noticing something. "We have an even number."

Asch blinked, double-checked, and then sighed. "Yeah. Hadn't noticed that."

"That's perfectly fine," Teodoro said. "As the Order of Lorelei outnumbers the other groups, I will volunteer as mediator."

Which also meant he couldn't vote unless he needed to be the deciding vote, should we end up needing to take a vote.

I nodded, and it didn't look like Florian had any problems with this, or anyone else, for that matter.

Rialle slipped out of the shadows, handed Teodoro a folder, and then disappeared into the shadows again, and I laid down a telepathic field... and was pleasantly amused to find that I couldn't feel anything past Shadow, who was acting as a nice little barrier around the entire room.

Teodoro hummed. "Well, I suppose first things first. Damage to structures and estimates of repairs."

I glanced at Florian. Did he have those files? I certainly didn't...

Rialle wasn't the only one hiding in the shadows. Rialle, Anise, wait, was that Ifrit right behind me? Oh!

I realized, as Peony started going over damages and the repairs that would be necessary, that in a meeting like this, we'd usually have an attendant hovering over our shoulders with the necessary files and whatnot.

It just so happened that Shadow was allowing them to stay out of the middle of the discussion by allowing them to hide the way they were.

Though, why Ifrit felt like playing attendant for _me_ was beyond me. I knew he was going to be bored out of his mind in a few minutes.

After Peony's report on the Malkuthian cities—Grand Chokmah and St. Binah had taken the hardest hits of Malkuth, and Grand Chokmah possibly the hardest hit in the world—Asch started in on the Kimlascan cities. Sheridan was virtually untouched, and just needed monster control. Baticul was quickly being unflooded, thanks to help from Thalassa and Phaïe, and most of the damage there was either mechanical damage or water damage.

Even Belkend wasn't bad off, though a few buildings had suffered from the regular earthquakes that had wracked the area and there was concern about the retreating cliff face.

Daath was in near-mint condition, as well, the only problem being the sunburst crystal above the cathedral that Shadow couldn't even come near to get rid of.

I sighed as Florian finished the report on what they'd managed to figure out regarding the crystal. "I might be able to do something about that. But we'll have to live with the thing for a few more weeks," I said. "The blackout curtains and other makeshift things will hold us for a while yet. That crystal's not really high on my priority list."

Florian nodded, and then eyes turned to Astor, who, predictably, gave the report on Chesedonia.

There was a bit of an awkward pause, before Teodoro looked over at Solace. "I was told that the replicas started at the Tower of Rem."

Solace nodded. "Yes. We intend to reclaim it at some point, but as far as I'm aware, Rem made it a bit dangerous."

I bit back the snort and coughed lightly to gain the group's attention. "The top floor and the elevator were both hit with a type of sealing ability that would make leaving the vicinity of the seal rather deadly," I said. "That said, that's something I can teach someone else to fix rather quickly. I've already had to clear the elevator."

Solace nodded, while Goldberg frowned. "Isn't the Tower of Rem on Kimlascan land?"

"Considering the fact that it's existed in the Qliphoth since the Dawn Age, and was only remembered after the Outer Lands were lowered, I don't think Kimlasca has any right to be laying claim to it," Asch said.

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Given that Fandral is on the opposite end of the world, one would think that claiming both would be a dangerous thing to do."

I hummed. "Well, it's not off the table. Still, Fandral is unharmed mostly due to their neutrality, and aside from Rem's Energy-sealing nonsense at the top of the tower, the Tower of Rem is fine..." I paused and bit my lip. "We will have to send a team to look into the basement levels, however."

All eyes turned to me, and Asch looked worried. "Dark said something about that once. Dare I ask what's down there?"

I crossed my arms and swallowed the sour taste in my mouth. "Experiment gone wrong would be my best bet," I said. "Or an abandoned experiment. Either way, it's... not for the faint of heart."

Jade grimaced. "I'll put a team together in a few days, unless anyone has any objections."

Solace shook his head, and with the replicas covered, that left...

"Tear?"

Tear took a deep breath. "The majority of the Ferines population has already relocated to the hidden village in Tataroo Valley," she said. "As it's only recently been rebuilt, there's really no damage. There are still Ferines scattered around the world, however. While some may never join the village in Tataroo Valley, I'd appreciate assistance in drawing any wanderers back home." She stopped and glanced at Peony, then decided against saying anything.

I crossed my arms. "I'm going to guess that the Ferines want Eldrant, as well."

"Excuse me?!"

"What?!"

"No way!"

Teodoro brought to arguments and protests under control, and Tear blinked at me.

"Commandant... I say this as respectfully as I can manage," Goldberg started. "Are you out of your mind?"

I didn't bother holding back the snort this time. "I thought we'd already agreed I was certifiably insane? Getting back to the subject at hand, it makes sense to me. The isle of Hod belonged to the Clans once, and last I checked, the final Clan to own the lands before they were _destroyed_ was Gardios. Assuming we treat Eldrant exactly as it is, as a second Hod, then that means the land still belongs to House Gardios. Gailardia, the last Heir and therefore Lord of House Gardios, is one of the Ferines, and came very close to being their Merines. Also, to be frank, I don't trust the fairy springs in the hands of anyone other than the Ferines," I said. "And, again being rather frank, the Ferines will need somewhere to expand outside of the village in Tataroo Valley eventually, I'm sure."

Silence followed my verbal beat-down of any arguments against the Ferines claiming Eldrant, and I noticed Asch trying—and failing, mind you—to suppress a smirk.

"Anyone have an intelligent argument against the Ferines taking Eldrant once all of the insanity is passed?" Asch asked.

"Given the properties of the fairy water—"

"And that is exactly why I want the Ferines to have control over it," I cut Goldberg off. I figured he'd be the most adamant dissenter. The others all knew me well, and most of them wouldn't argue if I'd made up my mind and given them some damn good reasons to go with it. "The water from those springs _can_ lose its potency, and I know that Thalassa isn't the only minor water spirit that's been born from the springs. She just happens to be the strongest and oldest. If the springs are harmed, those spirits will start dying off, which will hurt the springs even more. Best to simply leave them alone and only draw from them on occasion."

Tear nodded, as did about half of the rest of the table, while Goldberg silently stewed. He was outnumbered, knew he was outnumbered, and didn't look at all pleased about it.

"So, it looks like Grand Chokmah, St. Binah, and Baticul took the worst damage, in that order," Teodoro said. "You said the preparations to rebuilt Grand Chokmah have already begun?"

Peony nodded. "Yes. We've been making plans for reconstruction since we left. With Gnome sealed, we should be able to get work started within a few days."

"What of St. Binah?" Teodoro asked.

"Between the fall into the Qliphoth and the regular earthquakes and monster surges from Gnome, most of the buildings' foundations are damaged. We're going to have to repair all of _that_ before we can start on other repairs," Jade replied.

Teodoro glanced at Asch.

"Most of the repairs needed in Baticul are to the machinery that operates the lifts and aircars," he said. "But we can't start with that until we get the water cleared from the lower levels. It's still an ongoing effort at this point. Undine dropped an impressive amount of snow on us. It'll be a few weeks yet before the last of it melts, and until then, the lower levels of Baticul are going to continue flooding." Asch paused and hummed. "We've already gotten most of the damaged staircases repaired, though."

"So it looks like most of the rebuilding efforts are going to be in Malkuth," Peony noted.

I grimaced. "And you still haven't had a chance to rebuild Keterburg after Zion set it alight," I mused. This meant the only Malkuthian city that hadn't been hit hard in the last year was Engeve.

"We'll bounce back," Peony said, looking determined.

I smiled a bit. "I have no doubt about it."

The next hour was a discussion of allocation of funds and materials. Normally, after a war, all of the countries would retreat into themselves, however... given that the war had been against the congregate sentiences, it really wasn't all that surprising that we were banding together.

In the end, the Order of Lorelei supplied most of the funds, and Kimlasca supplied most of the materials.

"We also need to start letting everyone know what's going on," I pointed out as the meeting wound to a close. Peony nodded and looked around.

"The Malkuth Military's still fairly organized, despite our citizens being just about everywhere," he said. "We should be able to get word around easily, but how much of what's happened are we going to release to the public?"

"That's going to depend a lot on how much the Ferines end up talking, I have a feeling," Tear said. "We've already had a few people being attacked, for various reasons. Considering that Undine made sure all of us knew everything..."

I nodded. "Not to mention the mess Gnome made." I tilted my head to the side. "Obviously we're going to have people wondering how and why this happened, as well. While the presences of the six main sentiences have been confirmed for millennia, no one's got recorded contacts since about three thousand years ago, for obvious reasons. And now they came back, damn near wrecked the majority of the world, and suddenly aren't again?"

Asch nodded. "In this case, honesty may truly be the best policy. Or at least, I can't come up with a convincing lie to keep the masses content."

That seemed to be the general consensus.

"What are we going to say to explain Myre? Or, are we going to at all?" Florian asked.

I crossed my arms and pointedly stayed quiet. Tear and Solace were still giving me sour looks, and though Asch and Jade understood what I'd done and why I'd done it... well.

Solace tended to side with his brother, unless it was something that pertained to the replicas that he, Fallon, and Path all seemed to be co-leading.

"We should probably not mention anything. Myre was, technically, Selenia existing in two places at once the entire time. Best to just let her existence be forgotten by the world at large, assuming anyone even really noticed her. Given how many of us there were running around..." Jade trailed off and shrugged.

"If all else fails, saying that she died in the final fight against Gnome won't surprise anyone," Asch said softly. He glanced at me, then Teodoro. "Anything else we need to discuss?"

Tear's grandfather shook his head. "No. I believe this meeting may be adjourned."

I wasn't quite on my feet and gone fast enough to have teleported. But almost.

Within seconds, Asch was right by my side, as always.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So, Kairi's got some backlash to deal with for the time being after killing Myre. Also, if you think the arguments over Eldrant are done, you're being idealistic. Really. Eldrant will still be the source of arguments in the Future Arcs. I promise. Pig-headed people are stubborn._


	88. Chapter 12-2 Part 88

_Added notes: Ladies and Gentlemen, begin the insanity that is July Camp NaNoWriMo, where I will not be writing, but drawing. Prepare thyselves for the onslaught of chapters and (if you're following my DeviantART) artwork._

 _-bows and leaves-_

 _Original: I love the title for this chapter. Really. I do. It's amazing. And my thoughts exactly, at this point._

 _As I type this, I have 400ish words to do to finish Part 105, then I'm going to set Narrator to reading the rest of Chapter 12 so I can catch some of the stupid errors I normally don't catch when reading it myself, and then I have just four Parts left to write. Four! I will be done so very soon..._

 _Then I get to edit all of it._

 _And post all of it._

 _Also, beware the journal entry. Which, yes, that's about what one of my real-life journal entries looks like._

* * *

" _Um... One. Where's the real Asch? Two. Given your usual wake-up hour is around four to five, why are you up at three?" –Guy_

" _Oh, I don't know. Might just pull a Kakashi and make them wait another hour or two." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.2 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 88**

 _ **Gnome-Decan 22, 2019 – Loreleiday**_

 _Well, I suppose this is really quite fitting. The war with Gnome ended in the month named after him..._

 _I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Most of the higher ups in all the command chains know what I've done, why I've done it, but I don't know how to explain it to the people who just don't understand._

 _Sync..._

 _My baby brother didn't deserve to have to see that. But Myre needed to die. Myre, or Selenia, and taking Selenia from him would have been too cruel._

 _Myre was ready to die. She'd known what was coming, and I can't help but hope that she's moved on to someplace better... Maybe even reunited with her Sync. Because they've been apart far too long._

 _It's been decided that Malkuth gets the lion's share of the resources for repairs. No wonder—between me and Zion burning down Keterburg, Gnome and Ifrit destroying Grand Chokmah, and the near-constant attacks and battles around St. Binah (not to mention the fall into the Qliphoth), they need it._

 _How long has it been since I actually used this thing as a journal and not just a place to store all my handy Energy Circle ideas? I don't know, and at the moment, I can't be bothered to go look._

 _I'm scared._

 _Everything I knew from the game events is passed, and the war against the sentiences is over..._

 _Rebuilding is harder than destroying. It really is. And maybe that's part of why I lost control of things so much when Van started to get ahead of me. I was destroying his plans... trying to make sense of things again meant I needed to rebuild them, but that would have helped him, and put the others in even more danger..._

 _I'm glad Sync and Asch didn't have to die._

 _And I'm rambling. I was doing this for a reason, wasn't I?_

 _Oh, right._

 _We're missing things. I know we are. So I'm trying to figure out what._

 _The basement of the Tower of Rem has to be the main thing that's getting to me. It's... ugh. I don't like it. I don't want to go back, but if we want to have any chance at figuring out what was going on, I need to._

 _What else was there..._

 _Oh! Mohs! Mohs is a slimy little bastard and, unfortunately for the remains of Dark's sanity, is still running around. So is Star. Her puppets took Rem's sealing fire for them, so they would have been able to get out of the Tower. Now we just need to go figure out where they've run off to._

 _Star is pretty distinctive, I'll bet if we told people to keep an eye out for her, we'd be able to find her that way. Mohs... Mohs is better at hiding, staying hidden, so we'll have to set some other people to that. Saphir, maybe. He's pretty good at hiding, too..._

 _So, those two... We should probably do something about the passage rings, too, and the miasma, which Kade says is once again trying to form up in the core of the world. Lorelei could probably go to one of the Gates (Absorption would be the better choice, I think) and use a hyperresonance to clear it out, but from the sounds of things, it would just come back again._

 _Right now, there's not much there, but it's strange. There really shouldn't be a buildup. There's no reason for it at all, not with Kade mostly sealed inside my body and the rest of him sealed in other places. Even when I release him, I always pull it all right back in, so..._

 _I don't know what's going on. Neither does he. So we'll have to look into it later._

 _So let's see what I've figured out so far._

 _Star. Mohs. Basement of the Tower of Rem. And the Passage rings. And the miasma, though that's going to be a rather long project that I'll probably not be able to do on my own. Anything else?_

 _I can't think of anything._

"Good morning."

I glanced up from my journal and offered up a small smile. "Morning."

Asch sat next to me and looked up. "You know... hiding isn't going to make any of it better."

I shrugged. "No. But Sync's not ready to talk, and can it really be called hiding when I'd have come out here anyway to talk to Thalassa?"

Asch hummed. "Guess not. So, you're on the team headed to the Tower of Rem."

"Yeah. I know..." I don't think I quite managed to suppress the shudder. "To be honest, I don't want to go back. I... I'm scared of what we're going to find on those computers. There's no logical and _sane_ reason for that many people to have been preserved for so many centuries."

Asch wrapped an arm around me. "Maybe they weren't supposed to be there for centuries."

"One would think the bodies would have broken down by now, though."

That was an argument Asch couldn't really fight with, and I looked over my list. I was still missing something, wasn't I?

...It wasn't coming to me.

I sighed and flipped back to some of my Energy Circle pages, going over things, adding a few notes to some of them, and some generalized warnings that I normally would have added anyway, but apparently hadn't.

It was simple, mind-numbing work. And not because it was boring. It was drawing my mind off of... everything, and focusing it into something I could actually do without over-thinking things.

That was a large part of the reason why the passage rings were on my list, I had to admit. I needed something to take my mind off of things, something to focus on when we were in a meeting and I wasn't really too preoccupied with all of the political maneuvering.

The nice thing about all of the rulers/leaders of the countries being friends was that we were much less inclined to do any sort of backstabbing, whether it be the political kind or the literal kind.

I heard a soft growl, and reached out automatically, physically and mentally.

The channel opened the same moment my fingers found Twilight's mane, and he stuck his head against my side, the one that wasn't preoccupied with Asch. No words, or even images-meant-to-be-words, but reassurance that neither of them were even thinking about abandoning me did more for my already-unstable mind than I was willing to admit.

"...Morning."

I looked up from my notebook, blinked a few times, and then sighed, the first actual smile I'd had in days gracing my lips as Guy climbed out of the spring. "You are getting far too fond of sleeping down there."

Guy scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "In my defense, I don't do it on purpose. I just took a swim to clear my head a little and was thinking, and then I'm waking up with that vague sense of 'whoops, did it again.'"

I snorted. "Yeah... gotta love it when something like that happens."

He yawned, stretched, looked at the sky... and then frowned. "Um... One. Where's the _real_ Asch? Two. Given your usual wake-up hour is around four to five, why are you up at three?"

I grimaced. I'd hoped he wouldn't notice that yet.

"Nightmare," I admitted. Not the relatively nice ones, either, where it was just me finding the already-dead bodies of my friends.

No, this was the one where I killed them all myself.

Creatively, in some cases, but that didn't make me feel any better when I would finally wake up.

Asch didn't say anything, just shifted a bit and pulled me closer.

Guy walked off without another word, leaving most of the water he'd been soaked in right next to the spring it had come from.

The nice thing about Ferines clothing was that it lost water very quickly, I'd learned.

I didn't often fall back asleep after I'd woken up, but...

That morning, tucked between Asch and Twilight, most of my worries about the current happenings written down where I wouldn't forget about them, I managed to do so.

When I woke up the second time, the three of us were right where we'd been when I'd fallen asleep, albeit in a slightly different position, and I sat up and stretched, careful not to wake Asch.

He was tired, too. I couldn't blame him. Three in the morning was not his usual wake-up time, much less two in the morning, which was when I'd actually woken up and left headquarters.

It was morning, for sure. The sun was high enough to be lighting up the entirety of Eldrant, and though it was still off to the side, not straight over us, I knew it wouldn't be more than a couple hours before that would be the case.

I stepped over to the open space and started dancing through my sword forms almost without thinking about it, eyes closed and simply... feeling.

I didn't see Myre. I didn't see any of them. I was just _moving_.

I took a deep breath and managed to keep going, the movements becoming less stiff, until I could hear the whistle of a second sword through the air.

Asch. Moving next to me. Not so close that we'd hit each other, but close enough for me to hear his breathing, if I listened. It was a decidedly comforting sound. Because...

It reminded me. None of us would go down without a fight. But Myre had. And if I hadn't volunteered, Shadow would have done it.

No one had _wanted_ to kill her, that much was obvious to anyone who bothered to actually look at things. But the fact that I had stepped up and done it...

The others were having nightmares too. Sync more than any. And while I'd have loved to be the one to wrap him up in a hug and make him forget the nightmares... I was the one killing him and everyone he loved in them.

Which was why, when I stopped, let Silver Clematis return to my arm, and glanced at Asch, I was surprised when I spotted Sync leaning against a tree just past him.

I blinked a few times, then skirted around the area Asch was using and walked over to Sync. "I'm going to guess Jade told you to tell me to get a move on." If it was as late as I was thinking it was, the whole group was now running late getting to the Tower.

Sync shook his head, paused, then shrugged. "Actually, given that you're now about an hour late joining them, he probably _has_ sent someone out to find you, but it wasn't me," he replied. I snorted, then let my amusement fade again.

"So..."

Sync shifted, and I found myself with an armful of green-haired teen faster than I'd expected. For a moment, I simply stood there in shock, before I hugged him back.

I didn't acknowledge the fact that my shoulder was slowly getting damper, nor did I do anything other than shoot Asch a look when he finished and slung Ultimatus over his shoulder again.

He just gave me a knowing smile and walked away, leaving me with a sleeping Twilight and my little brother.

"I'm sorry..." Sync mumbled into my shoulder. I shook my head.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," I whispered back. "You were reacting just as I would have expected anyone to act in that situation."

Sync took a shaky breath. "It doesn't make it hurt any less. I thought... I thought hating you would make her death hurt less, but it just hurts more and..."

"Shh..." I started rocking just a little bit, and Sync didn't even resist.

"You're having nightmares, too..."

"Probably something along the same line as you're having," I admitted.

"You were gone at three a.m. when I woke up this morning," Sync said, sniffing. "And... I kinda wanted to go find you then, but Asch's bed was empty too, so..."

I held onto Sync a little tighter, refusing to let go for even a moment. "Let it out, little brother. Holding onto things just makes it worse in the end..." I knew. I knew from personal experience. But I hated letting other people see...

If Sync was willing to let me see, then I wasn't going to abandon him to simply cry on his own. He needed someone to cry on, to cry _with_ , and...

"I'm so proud of you, little brother," I whispered as Sync fell apart in my arms. He'd come a very long way from the emotionally stunted boy I'd so-to-speak 'rescued' from Van almost two years ago now.

Almost. Not quite, not yet...

I smiled. We should do something to celebrate the two-year mark. We'd been more than a little busy at the one-year mark.

I'm not totally certain how long we stood there, me leaning against the tree and Sync just trying to pull himself back together, and failing.

Physically fourteen, nearly fifteen.

Mentally? Still only two, three years old. And no child deserved to have to see someone die the way Myre had.

She'd _needed_ to die, but if I'd had the choice, had a way to keep her alive... I'd have done so. And then this wouldn't have needed to happen. Sync's nightmares, his breakdown, my nightmares...

There were consequences to everything we did. And Myre had proven it.

She'd changed her future. Stopped it from happening. And she'd died happy because of it. That had been a _smile_ on her face when I'd killed her.

So... Part of me wasn't as affected as the rest of me was. Because I'd seen that smile, knew what it meant...

I was glad she'd finally gotten the peace she'd wanted.

Sync finally pulled away, still sniffing and trying to wipe his eyes, keep them dry.

It wasn't really working, but I think he'd gotten the worst of it out of his system.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go see Selenia? I think she's been having nightmares, too..." No, I _knew_ she'd been having nightmares, and having Sync on hand would help to alleviate them.

Sync offered up a small smile. "I guess you're leaving, then?" he asked, knowing full well that I was already running late to be meeting up with Jade, Saphir, Guy, and the others who were going to be going to the Tower of Rem with us.

I shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Might just pull a Kakashi and make them wait another hour or two."

Sync raised an eyebrow, and I grinned and started explaining one Kakashi Hatake from Naruto to my little brother.

An explanation that took me at least an hour, since one thing led to another and we ended up talking about Naruto for ages.

Well. Now to go make excuses...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I... don't even know where the Kakashi thing came from. This may or may not have been written while I was reading one of many Naruto time-travel fics on my list of favorites..._


	89. Chapter 12-3 Part 89

_I got the base colors and lining done for both the Silver Clematis blades and Ultimatus on the new cover! Haven't done any shading or anything yet, but... eh. I'll get there once I've got the basics done. I still have two weeks, people!_

 _Though, given that it took me over 5 hours just to do the base colors/lining for the swords... (Then again, those are the foreground, and I'm not used to working with weapons. Much more used to drawing humans and clothing, which is the next thing on my list of things to do. XD) Oh well. Goal is 3 hours a day, and I missed an hour yesterday, so I've got plenty of time to get it done still, I'm sure._

 _Anyway, moving on..._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

" _So... we have a stowaway." –Guy_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.3 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 89**

"Yo!"

"YOU'RE LATE!"

I was never so glad for my poker face as I was right then. "Sorry, got lost on the road of life..."

Three sweatdrops and two even more pissed-off expressions met my 'excuse', copied straight from the manga, and Jade just sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling you took that from something I don't even want to know about?"

"Hm, did you say something?"

Saphir snickered at the look on Jade's face, which was now caught somewhere between exasperated and annoyed... Which left him looking rather like I'd tried to tell him Cantabile had changed her mind about marrying him, which he knew full well would never happen.

I started glancing around a little bit, noticing that Ginji was here. That meant we'd be going on one of the Albiores. Guy wasn't here yet either, though. Odd. Had he run off to find me, or what?

I voiced that question, and Jade adjusted his glasses.

"Something came up with Fallon, it looks like," he replied. "He was here on time, though."

I just smiled and kept looking around. I recognized a few of these men, and wasn't sure why Ifrit was here, but then, he had a habit of going wherever he wanted whenever he wanted.

Also... Well, it was possible that Jade had asked his help with disposing of the bodies.

Dark was here, too, though it looked like he was more preoccupied with his thoughts than anything else.

A total of about twelve people, looked like. Plus the now-late Guy. Assuming he was still coming.

Guy ran over just as Jade gave me a look that said he was about to ask me to contact him, and he looked amused. "Oh, _now_ you join us," he muttered, still not looking at all cross.

He knew why I'd been late to begin with.

I shrugged. "Thought I might as well. So, we going?"

I got a lot of evil eyes for that, and had to resist the urge to snicker. Ah... No wonder Kakashi did this so much. It was so much fun watching the reactions.

Ginji sighed and led us all up to the Albiore III, and for once, I was actually a bit grateful that I didn't have to fly.

I didn't want to have to focus at least part of my attention on flying. I could just sit down, relax, and get my thoughts straightened out.

"So... What should we be expecting?" one of the Malkuth scientists we were bringing with us asked.

I crossed my arms. Or not.

"Nightmare fuel," I muttered crossly. "To be a bit more specific, what looked rather like human experimentation. I'm not sure whether to be grateful or upset that all of those people were long dead by the time Guy and I found it."

Even Jade looked paler than when I'd started.

"Why are we going, again?" a younger man asked. An engineer, I think.

"Our mission right now is twofold—dispose of the bodies as gracefully as possible, and figure out what that laboratory was being used for," Jade replied, slipping into soldier mode.

Ifrit stepped up. "'at's what ah'm here fo'," he added. "Pyre's prob'ly as good as we're gonna get."

I nodded. "Yes, most likely." I looked around, noting that a number of the group we'd brought along looked ill. I sighed. "You don't all have to help with the bodies," I said. "Might as well keep the nightmare fuel running the nightmares the rest of us are _already_ having."

"I think Kairi's brought up a good point. She and I've already seen it, and between everything that's happened recently, Jade, Saphir, Dark, and Ifrit should be able to handle it a little better," Guy added.

"I'll help too if you guys need it," Ginji piped up.

A nod was really the only response he got, but considering he'd glanced back just in time to catch it, it was enough.

"So, what's going to happen when we get there?" Saphir asked.

"Guy can get the false floor opened, then we can take the elevator down. Once there, I can find the light switch again. Just... be prepared. We barely got a glimpse of what was down there before I turned the lights off again, but a glimpse was enough," I said, suppressing a shudder.

"Right. We'll dispose of the bodies as quickly as possible and then start looking. Did you notice any smells while you were down there?" Jade asked.

Guy shook his head, but I frowned. "The air was pretty stale, but still with that tinge that you always get in hospitals. I'd guess when whatever project was down there was abandoned, they sterilized everything to remove any evidence of who was working on the project outside of the people keeping records and then sealed the laboratory," I muttered.

"What do you mean, outside of the people keeping records?" one of the scientists from Belkend asked.

I glanced up at him, blinked, then looked up at the Albiore's ceiling. "It's quite simple really. Any lab assistants, nurses, basically anyone who wouldn't have had their names in the main research documents they left behind. Hospitals, labs... there's a lot of places where employee sign-in books are about the only place you're going to find evidence of there being at least three times as many people involved than you'd think just looking at the names you can find in records."

"She's right," Jade noted. "And if they bothered to sterilize the laboratory before sealing it, that means whatever they were doing likely wasn't signed off on. Which means this is going to be even worse than we thought."

I hummed. "Nightmare fuel. Your mileage may vary."

Guy reached over and smacked me, not hard, but hard enough that it was obvious he wanted me to stop joking around.

I didn't. "Stop... abuse... I claim abuse..."

Saphir snorted. "Right, like you don't unleash enough on the rest of us."

I opened my mouth to retort, paused, and decided that keeping my mouth shut was a better idea.

Guy growled a bit. "Would you stop goofing off? This isn't exactly a laughing matter."

"Exactly."

There was a moments' pause, and I sighed. "We're going into a situation that's going to leave most of us with nightmares, because it's horrible. We've got no choice. But, laugh a little now, laugh a little after, might be able to fight the majority of those nightmares off."

Jade nodded. "Just like going into a large battle. Keep the morale up, get it over with."

I hummed. "I don't want to go, honestly. I'd rather just stay at Eldrant. I don't even care if that means dealing with the political mess. I'm tired of the fighting and the messes we're finding left over from centuries ago. But someone has to do it. And considering the level of the tech down there, you're probably going to need me."

"Says who? We're all used to working with fontech. You're a soldier."

"I'm also from a world with more advanced technology than Auldrant has even seen yet," I shot back. "The researchers in Yulia City spent centuries trying to make sense of the Dawn Age tech in the underbelly and I managed to get it up and working in just a few hours."

Much as I'd expected, that shut the group up, and I settled back into my seat, closed my eyes, and hoped that this would go easily enough, once we'd gotten there.

"So... we have a stowaway."

Wait, what?

I sat forward, turned, and shot a look at Guy, who was looking at... Sync.

Who looked sheepish.

"In my defense, I was just trying to figure out where I left my journal," he said. "I can't find it, thought I might have left it on one of the Albiores since the last time I remember writing in it was on an Albiore, and... you guys kinda took off while I was still looking."

I rolled my eyes, sat back in my seat again, and sighed. "Only you, Sync. Only you."

Jade huffed. "Well. That said." A pause. "Would you all mind leaving the cockpit for an hour or so? Sync, Guy, Saphir, you can stay."

"And Kairi?"

"She doesn't seem inclined to move, anyway. I didn't see a need to tell her not to."

There was some grumbling, but the other scientists left, and Jade sat across the aisle from me.

"I was going to tell you this earlier, but you took your own sweet time showing up this morning," Jade started. "Emperor Peony has decided to call another Peace Conference in Yulia City. And the first thing on his agenda is a discussion over allowing the replicas and Ferines to keep their current claimed autonomy."

Guy growled again, something not at all polite and quite indicative of what he thought of the whole thing. "I get the feeling that wasn't entirely his idea."

"No, Sesemann and Nordheim were both pushing for it. If they get their way, the Ferines will have to answer to Malkuth and the replicas to Daath."

I scowled. "Given the fact that Solace has basically taken over with the replicas, I get the feeling that's going to be a large part of their argument," I muttered. "And if the Ferines have to answer to Malkuth, that means Malkuth gets Eldrant, as well."

"And if I remember correctly, you don't want Eldrant held by one of the major countries."

"The Ferines understand water. The fairy water should be theirs, not something to be exploited by Malkuth and Kimlasca," I said. Then I snorted. "But, if all else fails, I can take the moonstone channeling the cleansing spell and hide it somewhere. Aramis Spring, maybe. That might leave the moon Energy Midlight crystal and the fairy water it's generating in Daath's control, but at least it'll be hidden. The thing is, if I do that, chances are most of those water spirits that have been born in Eldrant recently will die out again."

"Thalassa's pretty strong, she might live, but the others..." Guy agreed.

"So how do we ensure that the Ferines get to remain under their own banner instead of them being annexed into Malkuth?" Sync asked.

"That's going to depend largely on Tear and Guy, I think. Tear's their Merines, Guy was the Heir to House Gardios before the Hod War, and to be honest, I don't think Peony would mind, either. It's just going to be a lot of arguing and posturing and a bunch of us having to play patient parents with bratty kids."

Jade snorted. "That... has to be the most apt description of politics that I have ever heard."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, be glad I'm not unleashing some of Jesse's terrible politics jokes. Those are just... bad."

"Who's Jesse, and how bad are we talking?" Saphir asked.

"Kid from school, and 'I can't believe you actually said that' bad. Back on track, what about the replicas?" I replied.

"I think the largest problem here is the fact that they're mentally children, every last one of them. Though Dark may be the oldest stable replica alive, I think even he's only about ten," Jade replied. "Not that it's stopping any of them from acting at least _close_ to their age... well, with the exception of Dark, who typically manages to act much older than his physical age."

"I blame that on the fact that he was raised an assassin. Danté does the same thing."

"And you know that, _how_?"

"Doppel."

There was another collective silence.

"Who or what is Doppel?" Ginji asked.

Jade sighed. "Moving on, getting the replicas their autonomy shouldn't actually be too difficult. The largest problem we're going to face _will_ be with the Ferines and Eldrant."

"Aside from figuring out autonomy problems, what else is going to be on that agenda?" Guy asked. A good question, and not one I was certain I wanted to know the answer to.

"Rebuilding efforts, of course. We've covered that at least in part with the last meeting, but we'll have to bring it up again and again until it's all done, I'm sure. Well, with the exception of Keterburg, as that was pre-sentience war."

"Oh please gods tell me we're not actually calling it the Sentience War," I muttered.

"For lack of a better name, that's what we're sticking to for now," Jade replied. "We can come up with something else later if we need to, though I don't know what else would fit."

I groaned.

"At any rate, yes, autonomy, rebuilding, there's also been talk of working on a technological revolution. Some of the researchers from Yulia City are starting to make breakthroughs, and Iemon, Tamara, and Aston sent word that they've found another flightstone," Jade continued.

I hummed and looked up at the ceiling. "I need to make another stop at one of the passage rings, or maybe just make my rounds of all of them again."

"Oh?"

"Thought you said we couldn't repair them?" Guy asked.

I nodded. "I said that there was no way we could repair them and keep the Outer Lands afloat at the same time. I never said they couldn't be repaired at all. I've already set some programs to starting the process, but we're going to need to strip out a lot of the wiring and everything."

"There's wiring in those things?" Sync muttered, sounding cross.

I snorted. "Yes. I spent far more time than I honestly should have playing around in the Mt. Zaleho passage ring while I was in Daath that month between the Absorption Gate and Zion burning down Keterburg. It just takes knowing what to look for to _get_ to the wiring."

Guy sighed. "So, what, are we just going to put the passage rings back together? And then what? They were used to keep the Outer Lands afloat before, now what are we supposed to do with them?"

I shrugged. "I've got a few vague ideas. But I'm not going to say anything definitively until after we've dealt with the Tower of Rem... Can we please rename it?" I asked. "I hate Rem. She doesn't deserve to have a whole tower named after her."

There were some chuckles at that, and Sync grinned. "Better ask Solace about that. With the replicas still vying for the tower, they'll have the final say over whether the name changes or not," he replied.

I nodded. "I will do that. Because honestly. Rem's a bitch."

"Speaking of the Tower, we've still got about three hours before we get there. Anyone wants to take a nap, now's the time to do it," Ginji piped up.

Right. Damn timezone nonsense. But at least flying wasn't as bad as when we simply teleported from one side of the world to the other.

I pulled my journal out again to make a few more notes.

The Tower of Rem needed renovated... and also renamed.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I... really hadn't planned for Sync to be here. My lack of control over my characters is... uh... phenomenal. Isn't it?_

 _So anyway, yeah. Let's rename the Tower of Rem, shall we? (I do not need suggestions, it's been decided on for_ MONTHS _now.)_


	90. Chapter 12-4 Part 90

_Yep! Second chapter!_

 _This one's for the completed Ultimatus lining/base coloring. Last one was for Silver Clematis._

 _May or may not get another one today, depending on how long Asch's lining takes me._

 _Also, the whole thing with Kairi and Saphir still gets me laughing._

* * *

" _Drunk, yes. Less deadly? Apparently not." –Jade_

 _...Yikes. I made a mental note never to piss Saphir off. –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.4 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 90**

One day, things would go our way and we could go do one of these missions and not have to worry about hiccups.

Today was not that day.

In fact, today's hiccup was named Starlorne Arlynde.

I sighed and crossed my arms, eyes scanning the silver-haired girl as she stood up, a bit wobbly on her feet, and from the bloodshot eyes and the way she was moving, she was drunk.

Great.

"Oh goody... You brought Five with you."

Sync scowled. "My _name_ is Sync."

"I could give a damn less. Ion's dead." Yes, thank you for stating the obvious.

The inebriated girl tossed three small orbs into the air, and they burst into smoke before turning into her puppets.

I sighed. "You're not seriously about to try to fight us drunk, are you?"

Star didn't respond. Just sent her puppets after us with a frightening accuracy.

"Drunk, yes. Less deadly? Apparently not," Jade grunted. "Sync, Kairi, Guy!"

"Gotcha!"

"Wait, Kairi, stay back," Saphir yelped, running past me a moment later to deal with the dwarf puppet I'd been about to engage.

Well, I guess there was that option too.

"Saphir, what the hell are you doing?" Jade grumbled, casting an Infernal Prison on the puppet that Guy was distracting.

"Kairi's fire-elemental," Saphir replied.

Just in time for my own Infernal Prison to land on _his_ puppet.

The thing that worried me, though, was that Star didn't seem to be reacting in the least to the rather rapid destruction of her puppets.

In fact, she was more interested in whatever the hell she was holding.

"I'm gonna use it, Ion. I know you made me promise not to, but..."

Blue eyes rose and locked with mine.

"Some things are worth it."

The second the last of the three puppets was destroyed, Star held the item over her head, and a bright flash blinded us.

"Why am I getting a sinking feeling that this isn't going to be an easy fight?" Sync muttered, taking a few steps away from the cloud of smoke that had hidden Star and whatever she'd summoned up next.

I glanced back at the rest of the engineers and scientists we'd brought with us. "You should back up a bit. Maybe head back to the Albiore. We'll come get you when this is over," I ordered.

The majority of them nodded and headed off, and those that didn't were dragged along by their companions, while I turned back around.

What emerged from the smoke would have impressed me if it weren't for the fact that I knew it was going to be a really, really difficult fight to get rid of it.

Star was nowhere to be seen, but considering the size of the dragon 'puppet' that was left behind, she was probably _inside_ it.

I grimaced. "I get the feeling fire won't work real well on that thing," I said, noting that most of its armor was actually metal. It would get hot, but it wouldn't burn.

"Uh, lightning maybe?" Dark asked. "I'm not going to be a lot of help in this battle, I don't think," he added.

I glanced back and had to agree. The White Lotus chakrams would just bounce off its armor, and he focused primarily in light-elemental artes. Still...

"Sandstorms and Stardust Rains," I muttered, taking a casting stance and pulling in fourth fonons.

As long as I was sticking to fonons-only, I could cast this particular arte three or four times before having to start swallowing down orange and pineapple gels. And that wasn't even at the lowest power level I could put into the arte.

Drop it down to the point where it was only about twice the strength of a Blessed Drops, and not my typical four times the strength, I could cast Final Embrace a good dozen times before I had to stop.

The ice would probably slow her down, at least, even if it did nothing else. "Maiden of ice who sleeps in the silent forest, grace my enemies with your smile and offer them thy bosom!"

Guy leapt back out of the way even as Saphir shifted into a decidedly defensive stance, and though I wanted to gripe at the silver-haired man, I was a bit busy unleashing a fonic arte to do so.

"Final Embrace!"

Saphir was still well within the area of effect when it landed, but much to my surprise, it didn't seem to damage him, and the faint shadows around him told me why.

He was using one of Shadow's favorite tricks to simply become insubstantial and avoid being hit.

"Gee, thanks."

I shot Ifrit a sour look. "I don't think we're going to be able to cook her out of there, Ifrit. At least the ice ought to slow her down."

The fire sentience rolled his eyes and held out his hands, a pair of deadly-looking claws forming up over his hands. "Guess ah might as well help keep 'er busy, then."

I frowned as he ran off to join the fray, and Saphir slipped back to join me, Jade, and Dark.

"Well, that's helpful, but I thought he was usually a martial artist?" Saphir muttered.

"I think he's realized that punching something made out of metal isn't going to get him very far," I replied, already setting up another Final Embrace.

Jade had unleashed a couple of Thunder Blades, and while they made the dragon twitch a few times, they weren't doing much good, either.

"Wait... Kairi, do you have anything that's pure water, not ice?" Saphir asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I mean, I can use Splash, but it's... not nearly as strong as when I use Icicle Rain. Maybe half the strength of Jade's usual Splashes?"

"Oh jeez. You really are a walking contradiction, aren't you?" Saphir grunted, letting loose a Splash of his own.

"I prefer walking oxymoron, but contradiction means just about the same thing, so I suppose I'll take it, too."

"Just shut up and cast," Dark grumbled, launching another Stardust Rain. "I wish I had a water arte."

I hummed, finished casting my third Final Embrace, and then pulled in a good number of first fonons as well as fourth fonons.

"Uh, Kairi?"

"You asked if I had a water arte that wouldn't go icy," I replied. "I don't use this often, but I've got it on hand for cases like this..." I paused to pull the fonons into formation, and smirked as the arte pulled, ready to form up just as easily as the rest of my base set of artes. "Maelstrom!"

The dragon puppet was thoroughly drenched now, between Jade's multitude of Blessed Drops and my Maelstrom, and Jade smirked. "Oh excellent. Now then..."

He raced forward, bracing himself as Star's dragon twisted around and smacked him with her tail. It sent him flying, but he managed to correct himself mid-flight and landed on his feet with a smirk and a small shockwave.

Ah. Indignation. Well. If he was going to do that...

I was halfway through pulling together fonons when Saphir also unleashed a small shockwave, and I blinked a bit, but kept pulling in fonons anyway.

The familiar verse for Indignation had me smirking, then scowling when my Extension caught easily, pulling in fonons readily for an Extension that I wouldn't be able to back out of now.

Star's dragon was still going strong, which meant that it was going to take more than one Mystic Arte... was that why Saphir had gone into Overlimit?

I smirked as the lightning faded to reveal an illusion of us standing over the water. "Hear these, the cries of the souls lost to the sea!" The winds picked up, turning the water into a whirlpool. "Drown in an eternal abyss... Siren's Tempest!"

Screeching signaled the storm turning into a water spout before dissipating.

Saphir smirked when the dragon landed in another glyph... that looked rather similar to the one for Jade's Indignation. "Ye who would deny the judgment of the hand of God, acknowledge now His decree!"

I started pulling in fonons again, wondering idly if... Yes!

"Indignation Judgment!"

...Yikes.

I made a mental note never to piss Saphir off, even as Siren's Tempest caught and... Wait.

I glanced around the odd half-dimension that had formed. "Uh, whoops... That wasn't supposed to happen," I muttered, feeling Kade nudging me along. "Oh well."

First fonons... and sixth. Nice.

"First light..." The dragon thrashed and screeched. "Hymn of the Dawn!"

Light bore down on Star's dragon puppet, stronger than anything I'd ever seen Dark use, and I wondered idly if part of that was due to just _which_ arte I'd been extending on.

Once it faded, it was obvious that the dragon was on its last legs, and Dark gave me an amused look.

"Got enough in you for one more extension?" he asked.

I huffed a little bit. "Oh. Only because you asked," I muttered back, not feeling nearly as cross with the suggestion as my words might have suggested. Still...

I ran forward and let Star bat me around with her dragon's tail a bit before I felt something catch inside me, and I finally retreated again and nodded to Dark. "Ready when you are."

He nodded back, and was unleashing a shockwave within seconds, one that I followed up as quickly as I could, relishing in the energy burst that always came with Overlimit.

The dragon roared again, sounding rather frustrated, and I decided not to think about it too much. It was... dangerous.

I watched as Dark took to the air on indigo wings once again, calling down the beams of light that seemed to come to his fingertips so easily, and then pulled on the first fonons in the area, going through the motions and pulling the fonons into line with an ease born of familiarity.

Star's dragon seemed to seize up, and then it simply collapsed, falling apart and revealing a heavily-wounded Star within.

I couldn't hold back my gasp, and from the horrified looks on the others' faces, they were seeing the exact same thing I was.

Star had... been _tied_ into that thing. It was directly linked into her body...

I walked over and knelt, noting that she was still breathing.

"Ion..."

I laid a hand over her chest, and she glanced up at me. "Gonna kill me?" she murmured.

I sighed. "I don't think we could heal you in time."

Star's eyes slipped closed. "Don't care. Stopped caring years ago. Want the old Ion back."

I shook my head, pulled together earth Energies, and shoved them through my palm and into Star's heart.

She let out a soft gasp, but no other sound, and I was grateful that her eyes hadn't snapped open with the gasp.

Even as I stood up, I felt sick to my stomach.

"Kairi?"

"She's gone," I muttered. I glanced up. Zion had died back at the Monolith of Syal... "What did you guys do about Zion's body?"

There was silence for a bit, before Dark stepped up, pulling Star's body free of the rest of the ties. "Ryndor said he buried him outside of Daath, about where he found Star. I figure... that's probably as good a place as any to bury Star... right?"

I nodded. "Yes. That's why I asked."

"She really hated us, didn't she?"

I looked up, noticing Sync looking decidedly _away_ from the silver-haired girl Dark was packing away in his wing pack, and I sighed. "I don't think I want to know everything that happened with those two," I said. "Whatever happened, happened. And if nothing else... at least Star's back with him."

Sync nodded stiffly, and Guy sighed. "I wish this was the worst of our problems, but we didn't come here just to fight Star."

I grimaced. "Don't remind me. Last I checked, Star was with Mohs. So where's Mohs now? I know that's still not related to our mission, but it's relevant."

"I'm more interested in your mistake arte," Jade replied. "But you're right. Mohs is a problem too."

Jade was right. Unfortunately. But...

"It felt like Siren's Tempest forming up again. That's what I thought it would be. But then it turned into... that." I tilted my head to the side and thought about it for a bit.

"I don't think you can use the same Extension twice in a row," Saphir said. "Probably something similar to the fact that I can't pull out an Indignation Judgment unless Jade uses Indignation and doesn't kill whatever he was trying to kill."

I blinked a bit at Saphir, both grateful for the knowledge that I'd also have to piss off Jade to have Indignation Judgment aimed at me, and amused by the fact that they had to work together to get that rather epic combo.

Then I nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Like I said, it felt like it would work, but then didn't. So it probably was something like that... You got the hatch opened, Guy?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah." He took a deep breath. "We ready?"

I tapped one of the scientists outside telepathically. *Star's gone. You can come back now.*

I got surprise and acknowledgement back, and we weren't waiting long before the men joined us. I was grateful for the fact that there were only so many of them. This was going to be bad enough just for us. We were used to this kind of ridiculously horrifying shit. These scientists... they didn't know what they were getting into.

Part of me wanted to just leave them behind, but that would make things even more difficult for the rest of us, and I really didn't want this to take longer than it had to.

We all piled onto the elevator, and I noticed Guy shaking a little bit and grabbed his hand, shooting him a forced smile. He smiled back a bit, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly just as the elevator stopped.

"Well. It's dark."

"Hm?"

I snorted at Dark being his usual smart-ass self, slipped half onto the second plane, and strode forward, headed for the light switch since I knew exactly where it was. I stopped with my hand hovering over it.

"I'd tell you to brace yourselves, but it wouldn't be enough. So if you decide you need to throw up, try to find a trash bin. I think there's one off to the left of the elevator," I called. At least, that looked like a trash can, tucked into a corner where it wouldn't be immediately noticed.

I flipped the lights, and was not at all surprised when I saw the multitude of liquid-filled tubes, each and every single one containing a human body.

I swallowed down the bile, and walked over to the little girl I'd seen the last time I was here. Black hair. Pretty little thing.

I heard someone throwing up in the background, and hugged myself.

So very young...

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Hymn of the Dawn. This one's been planned out for_ ages _. But it only triggers if Kairi tries to use the same Extension twice in a row. There are only four sets of people whose Mystic Artes Kairi can pull a Hymn of the Dawn out of, and one of them is currently impossible._

 _Asch's Rending Sabre and Luke's Radiant Howl (Fae's Ire)  
Sync's Akashic Torment and Ion's Akashic Torment (Sorcerer's Rage)  
Jade's Indignation and Saphir's Indignation Tempest (Siren's Tempest)  
Dark's Sacred Beacon and Kratos' Shining Bind (Devil's Anguish)_

 _That last one will happen sometime in the Future Arcs during the crossover section._

 _There is a very good reason why Danté immediately flips out afterwards too. And no, it is not purely for comic relief... Though even in my head, it's really friggin' comical._


	91. Chapter 12-5 Part 91

_This chapter brought to you by finished character lining. Asch's hair continues to be as uncooperative as it has always been, and this time Kairi's hair got in on it, too. But I got the lining done!_

 _(This chapter also brought to you by V01d bugging me to get things done. -nods- Well done, V01d.)_

* * *

:If by 'in the area' you mean 'right under our feet', then yes. Yes, there is.: _–Kade_

 _It was really less a ring and more a glorified set of boxes with a bunch of cables running from box to box. –Kairi_

" _This... is a hat trick?" –Dark_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.5 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 91**

It took almost three hours for us to figure out just how large the laboratory was, and by the time we'd done so, it was getting late. Half of the group wanted to find a spot near the elevator to set up camp, the other half—including myself—wanted to find the accommodations the scientists involved in this project must have used.

Eventually, it was the latter group that won out when Guy stumbled upon the barracks entirely by accident.

By that time, no one really complained about us using the beds here.

I managed to contact Ginji as well, inviting him down if he felt like sleeping in a more comfortable bed than on the Albiore... assuming he was willing to subject himself to the horrors.

I probably shouldn't have been surprised when he came down, but he did, and looked on all of the people in the tubes with something like pity. I gave him credit for not losing his lunch as most of the scientists and engineers we'd brought with us had.

By four a.m. the next morning, there were three of us at work. Myself, Jade, and Saphir.

Jade and Saphir were trying to figure out how to drain the tubes and then get the bodies out.

I was busy with a terminal, trying to write up a translation program that would turn all of this from Ancient Ispanian to the Fonic Language. It... wasn't going well.

' _What I really need is for the program from the passage rings to just be copied into this damn system,'_ I grumbled mentally, not wanting to bother Jade or Saphir for this.

 _:Why don't you?:_

I jumped a bit, glanced around, and then growled something less than polite. _'It's not that simple...'_ I started, before actually thinking it over. It _wasn't_ really simple, per say, unless... _'Kade.'_

 _:Yes?:_

' _There wouldn't happen to be a Class Four Auldranti fonslot in the area, would there?'_

 _:If by 'in the area' you mean 'right under our feet', then yes. Yes, there is.:_

I smirked.

' _Thank you, darlin'.'_

I turned and ran over to the pile of scrap metal and abandoned tech that was scattered around and pulled some of it over, glancing over it and pulling out the items that looked like they would be the most useful.

"What in the world are you doing?" Jade muttered.

"Creating a temporary passage ring that may or may not become a permanent passage ring after some serious upgrading," I replied cheerfully, tearing into three different computers to get to the hardware I needed.

"Uh..."

"We're right on top of a fragging Auldranti fonslot, guys," I added.

"I thought there were only ten?"

I glanced up, noticed that Guy and Dark had joined us, and shook my head. "No. There are two Class Six, the Absorption and Radiation Gates. Then there are eight Class Fives. Those are the other ones that the Dawn Age technicians used for the current passage ring setup. However, they neglected to map out the Class Fours. Those are also strong enough to work as passage rings, but not as strong as the Class Fives."

Jade looked decidedly baffled by my explanation, and I sighed. "Give me about an hour to get this thing set up. There's something to be said for having something that might as well be a sentience in your head."

"I'm going to leave that where it is and go back to digging through the computers, then," Saphir replied. Haha, right, he's got a sentience in his head, too.

It took me closer to two hours to get my mini, temporary passage ring set up, and it was really less a ring and more a glorified set of boxes with a bunch of cables running from box to box.

Once I got it set up, though, I managed to get the thing to start working, though not as well as I would have liked. If I was going to link this properly, then I needed to... Hm, but I really didn't need to be fighting with the miasma at the moment, not with as much as seemed to be floating around in my body right now, so...

"Ifrit!"

The man stuck his head around a tube, and I gestured for him to come over, noting the way he was blinking around at the setup.

"So."

"Yup?"

"What's all this?"

"Temporary passage ring."

"Why?"

"I need it. Right now, I need to be at one of the already set up passage rings," I replied, giving Ifrit the sweetest smile I could pull up. He blinked at me, sighed, and glanced around.

"Let somebody know where we're going, and sure."

I smiled a bit wider, tapped against Saphir's very much frustrated mind, and was not surprised when he opened the channel with an irritable 'What?!'

Ifrit's taking me to one of the other passage rings. I'll be back shortly. Trying to get this thing to actually link up with the system that's already in place... In fact, think you could come over here to watch this end?

Saphir huffed. Sure. Why not. Might be more useful than I am over here. I might have a working knowledge of Ancient Ispanian, but this is ridiculous.

Why do you think I gave up? I can't read it at all. And, if I can get everything set up, we don't have to. So hurry over here so Ifrit can drag me off somewhere else. Probably Mt. Zaleho, because, well. I think that much is obvious and I don't have to actually explain it, I replied.

He grunted and managed to shove me back out of his mind, and I tapped my foot a bit, waiting for him to get over to my temporary passage ring.

He didn't come alone, trailing Dark and Guy behind him, and Guy looked around at my setup with some skepticism. "You sure this is going to work?" Guy asked.

I nodded, tapped my terminal, and a vague representation of Auldrant and her fonslots appeared. "Yes. I just need to get this hooked up with the passage rings already in place, and then I can get the rest of my little hat trick done."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "This... is a hat trick?"

I snickered and looked over at Ifrit. "Well, we really shouldn't keep them waiting."

Ifrit looked curious, too, so I wasn't too surprised when he held out an arm and we were gone within seconds of me taking it.

As I'd predicted, we appeared in Mt. Zaleho, right at the passage ring.

I walked over, put my hand on the hot terminal and watched as the diagram lit up above me. It didn't take me long to find my little passage ring that I'd made, and linking it up with Mt. Zaleho made it link up with _everything_... except the two gates.

Of course.

I rolled my eyes, turned, and shot Ifrit a look. "Are you seeing this nonsense?"

Ifrit snickered. "Yep."

"How close can you get me to the passage rings in the Gates?" Seeing as I couldn't get a good enough mental image of them, I couldn't really teleport myself if I _wanted_ to, which at the moment, I didn't.

He stopped, looked thoughtful, and grimaced. "Radiation Gate, I can't. At all. Absorption Gate, only right outside."

...That wasn't helpful. _I_ could probably do better than that.

I pushed through the terminal at the passage ring, and was pleased to find Saphir at the new passage ring terminal. *Hey, how close can Shadow get to the two Gates?*

Saphir yelped, and I snickered a bit. Looks like he hadn't been expecting that. *What the... it doesn't look like it's connected yet on this end...* he muttered.

*It won't until I get the Gates linked up. They don't seem interested in cooperating with me today.*

*That's why you were asking about Shadow... Give me a minute.*

Feeling him speaking with Shadow was a lot less like Asch and Luke talking and a lot more like me and Twilight talking. Less words, more feelings and images. I couldn't help but smile a bit at that, and then Saphir was turning back to me. *Mt. Zaleho, right?*

*Yup. I'll send Ifrit back while I'm dealing with the Gates,* I replied. Then I pulled away from the terminal and glanced at Ifrit. Just in time to noticed Ifrit's shadow lengthening. "Thanks. I know you don't appreciate the short notice, Shadow," I said, noting Ifrit blinking at me and then taking a rather pointed step away from his older brother.

Shadow nodded. "Saphir said you needed to get to the passage rings at the Gates?"

"Yeah, and it looks like Ifrit hasn't been down there before." I stopped there and looked over at him. "I told Saphir you'd be heading back while I deal with the stubbornly annoying Gates," I added.

Ifrit nodded. "Right. See ya when ya get back." And then he was gone, and I was left with Shadow.

He held out a hand, and I took it, unsurprised when we landed in the area where Van had been defeated in the game... and killed here.

"So... How's Gnome?" I asked, heading down the walkway to the passage ring itself.

Shadow sighed. "You say that like I know where he is."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

I shrugged. "Well. I figured if anyone knew where he was holing himself up, it'd be you. Any ideas on where _Rem_ is hiding? I know Undine's sticking close to the Ferines."

"Rem is avoiding me," Shadow replied. "And throwing a temper tantrum where no one else will see, thankfully." He hummed. "Have we figured out what we're doing about that sunburst crystal she left in Daath? It doesn't look like it's going to go out anytime this century."

I snorted. No kidding. That thing was literally a second sun, and nothing we did was going to get rid of it any time soon. There was a chance I'd be able to force it to disperse, but...

"I don't know. We might actually be able to make use of it," I replied. "But in order to do so, I'd have to figure out just _what_ we were going to do with it. For right now, it's just hanging there, and we've managed to get blackout curtains for everyone to have at least one room in each home completely darkened for sleeping, so until we work something out, it'll do."

"What could we possibly do with that thing?" Shadow asked.

"Eh, energy? It's kinda handy, having a spare, mini-sun on hand. Now if only I could figure out how to make solar panels here on Auldrant."

There was silence for a few moments as we reached the terminal and I started to get the Absorption Gate linked up to my little passage ring at the Tower, and once I was done, I turned and looked at Shadow almost expectantly.

He was outright staring at me. "That's a thing?"

I tilted my head to the side. "What's a thing?"

"Using the sun for energy. That's a thing on Earth?"

I nodded. "Yep. We've kinda made a mess of our planet, so of course everyone's trying to come up with all these different ways to get 'clean' energy. Well, that and we're running out of the fossil fuels we've been relying on for, like, centuries. So yeah. It's a thing."

Shadow blinked a few times, nodded, and then held out his hand again, ready to take me to the Radiation Gate.

The nice thing about him being able to get us fairly close to the passage rings was the fact that I couldn't really see the sun, so it wasn't as disorienting as it could be.

I was very grateful to see that the Radiation and Absorption Gates had mostly recovered from the Energy Voids that Rem's barrier had left behind, though. The fact that I could see without slipping half onto the second plane was a very nice bonus.

Once I had the Radiation Gate linked up, Shadow took me back to the Tower, and I glanced up, smiling when I saw the oh-so-familiar diagram up above, altered now to accommodate the passage ring here.

And my little audience had increased to include Jade and a good half of the scientists we'd brought with us.

"Wow. When you said you were adding a passage ring, I didn't think you meant you were actually _adding a passage ring_ ," Jade muttered, walking over and looking up at the diagram with the closest thing to an expression of awe that I'd ever seen my brother wear.

I smirked. "And guess what?"

Jade glanced over, noticed my smirk, and smiled a bit. "What?"

Ooh, Jade was actually _excited_.

I walked over to a computer nearby and started linking it up to the temporary passage ring with a cable that nobody had noticed, it seemed. That done, I walked back over to my little passage ring and got to work playing around with the translation programs that I'd used when Asch, Sync and I had first started messing with the passage rings back in Akzeriuth.

The passage ring blinked a message at me, and I smiled, hit 'confirm,' and then walked back over to the computer.

Still in the fonic alphabet, but at least now also in the Fonic Language.

"So. About half of these computers are _not_ linked into this particular relay," I started, turning and grinning. "New mission for anyone who finds a computer that's _not_ been translated into the Fonic Language. Link it up with the rest of them. The translation program's been set to keep translating anything that gets linked up to this passage ring."

There was a long moment of silence, and then Jade finally broke it by laughing.

Saphir shot him a look like he'd lost his mind, and Jade grinned at me. "And they call me a genius."

I shrugged. "I was getting sick of trying to write up a translation program. Why make a new one when there's a perfectly good one already saved into the passage rings?"

Saphir rolled his eyes. "Any idea if this is going to last as long as we're here?" he asked. I hummed and walked over, locking the terminal open, pulling up my favorite keyboard program, and getting to work pulling up my dozens of programs. One in particular, which monitored the conditions of the passage rings, was my main concern.

I looked over it, having it run full diagnostics on the new passage ring first before setting it to run full diagnostics on the rest. It would take _days_ for the thing to finish, but for now... "While this is running, we should start looking at the data on the computers," I said. "I can't do anything until the diagnostic on this passage ring is done, but I'm going to stay in this area so I can keep an eye on it."

"We'll head back toward the elevator," Guy said, grabbing a random scientist and pulling him along. Dark snorted as the group looked at him warily.

"Don't look at me. I'm down here mostly to make sure all of you stay safe," he replied. And as a representative of Kimlasca's military, but that went unspoken.

Jade adjusted his glasses. "I'll be within hearing range," he said. "Call if you need an extra set of hands for anything."

I smiled and nodded.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Apparently everybody keeps forgetting that Kairi can teleport on her own... including herself. This has caused me to have to clean up a LOT of these last 10 or so chapters._

 _Also, I have no idea where Sync disappeared to in this chapter. He wasn't supposed to be here in the first place, so for all I know, Ginji took him back to Eldrant. -shrugs-_


	92. Chapter 12-6 Part 92

_And this update is brought to you by V01d's bugging from this morning, and more importantly, the finished base coloring on both Asch and Kairi. -nods-_

 _(Kudos to anyone who figures out what this update (and the last few, and the next few) are_ actually _brought to you by.)_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _"I'll look into it another time." -Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.6 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 92**

Fingers flew across a ghostly keyboard, and I noted Jade coming up behind me.

"Three days in, and one would think you'd have found a chair or something by now."

I smiled a bit. "I was tempted. Unfortunately, that would have required me to find a chair, then adjust the height levels of my keyboard and so-to-speak screens..." I stopped and sighed. "Not worth it."

Jade snorted. "One would think it would be, but oh well." He was silent for a bit as I worked my way through the information displayed in front of me. "So... what are you doing?"

I rolled my eyes, hit a pause button that was conveniently settled just to the right of my keyboard, and pointed to the side that had been scrolling automatically. "Someone's journal, copied over from the computer I was going through yesterday," I said. Then I pointed to the smaller screen off to the side. "My notes on the contents of said journal."

Jade tilted his head to the side, glanced between the two, and finally just settled on blinking and looking a bit surprised. Which, given my brother, meant he was actually _very_ surprised. "Well. That's easier to read than going through the entire journal, I suppose. Whose journal is it, anyway?"

"As best I can tell? Either the man in charge of the entire project, or at least someone high up on the command chain," I replied. "There's project reports, information on who's been assigned what, and all sorts of helpful stuff in here. The problem is, half of it's encrypted, though not very well, and the other half is just... rambling. Like me when I bother to actually write in my journal instead of using it to scribble down Energy Circles."

"I see." There was a pause. "I'm guessing this is a rambling section, as I'm spotting a _lot_ of run-on sentences."

"Actually, this part's encrypted," I replied, pointing to a certain paragraph. "See where he's talking about Subject Zeta? That appears to be the code name for something to do with the passage rings. I'm not totally sure yet, still trying to get everything decoded and—" The terminal started blinking something at me, and I stared at the blinking light for a few minutes before I realized _why_ it was blinking. "Oh. That'd be the scans finally finished up."

Jade chuckled. "Tell you what? I'll worry about the journal, you deal with the passage rings."

I nodded, and within a few seconds, my entire small holographic work station had collapsed into a holographic cube. "Here. Find a spot somewhere in the area and you can go through that. It's literally just the journal, my notes, and the keyboard, so you'll have to bring it back over for me to get it all resaved onto the servers."

Jade blinked, but took the cube and walked a few yards away, notably to a chair, to get back to work.

I pulled up the passage ring scan results, grimaced, minimized them, and opened them up again.

Making them go away was _not_ going to make them give me results I liked.

Much as I might have wished otherwise.

I looked over them and grimaced again.

The only two that were even close to good condition were the ones here and at Eldrant. Eldrant didn't surprise me, as I knew Saphir and Guy had been poking around them rather often over the course of the last year. Nor did this one, though it did look like I'd need to do some serious reinforcement...

I got to work trying to figure out which passage ring needed the most work and on what systems, and by the time I had a pretty good list compiled of everything that I needed to get done on the passage rings, Jade had walked back over with the holographic cube.

"Gimme a minute..." I grumbled, sending the list to one of the computers linked up to the passage ring. That would set this whole thing up to print—hooray for printers! Dawn Age people sure knew their stuff—and I'd be able to take the list to the next meeting of the minds. Er. World leaders.

Yeah. That.

I shook my head, took the cube from Jade, and opened it up, saving the notes and then closing out of the terminal after sending the notes to the same computer the journal had been found on.

"I need a nap."

"When was the last time you actually slept?" Jade asked.

"Uh..." I stopped and glanced around. No clocks meant I had no sense of time. "No clue. Yesterday?"

Jade groaned. "Would you please bother to actually take care of yourself once in a while?"

"I do. I just don't do it well. Also, no clocks, so no point of reference for time," I replied.

He shot me a sour look, and I shrugged, stopping at the printer that was thankfully spitting out my passage ring list without any problems. I picked up the papers, glanced over them, and then continued toward the barracks we'd found and taken over.

"How much longer until Ifrit and Dark finish with the bodies we've concluded are safe to be removed?" I asked.

That was another thing. The bodies.

Most of these people had been involved in various different experiments, and it disgusted all of us to have to try to pick up the pieces left behind. Some of them weren't safe to burn. Others we couldn't risk removing from their tubes at all. And a few...

A few of them had actually still been alive, so to speak.

Their hearts still beat, their lungs still pulled in air when they were pulled from the tanks, but their Energy Cores were nonexistent, only this dark cavity left, and no amount of shoving Energies into that open space would bring them back around.

They hadn't woken up since being removed from their tanks, and I highly doubted they would.

Still, the less-than-safe-to-burn bodies were staying right where they were until we could figure out how to get rid of them, and Dark and Ifrit were clearing out the rest as quickly as possible. And I needed Ifrit so I could get to the other passage rings.

"Another day, we think. Unless they find _another_ offshoot room," Jade replied.

And the offshoots were a thing, too. So annoying to think we'd found all the main rooms, only for someone to get lost, stumble through a door, and find another lab.

Most of the subjects in the smaller labs were animals. This didn't make me feel much better, but not finding even _more_ humans was a blessing.

Jade and I walked past the elevator on our way to the barracks, and as always, I had to stop and stand in front of the tank containing the black-haired little girl.

She'd been determined to be among the number that was dangerous to remove, for whatever reason, and I didn't know _why_.

I crossed my arms and stared at her for a while.

She was cute. Adorable, even. And... Spending too long standing here meant that now I kept overlapping Lloyd with her. Trying to imagine it was horrible, and trying _not_ to imagine it... didn't work.

"We finally found a name for her."

I turned to look at Guy as he walked over, looking just as grim as I'm sure I did.

"Oh?"

"Siria. Siria Belanka."

I looked at the little girl again. Siria. That was a pretty name. Pretty name for a pretty girl.

"Any idea what the project she was involved in was?" I asked.

"Still no clue. And until we know, we can't risk taking her, or the rest of the A-R-L subjects out."

A-R-L. We still didn't know what that stood for, either. It was annoying, but not something I could afford to be worrying about at the moment.

I wasn't really a scientist. I was here to deal with the higher level of tech than the others were used to, and now that everyone seemed to have worked out a niche, I needed to go back to focusing on what I was good at—the passage rings.

Jade was quiet for a moment, letting me examine Siria a little longer before I turned and started walking again. "I take that to mean we found the files on the different projects?"

"Yes, most of them anyway. Whatever the Ghost Project was, it's definitely hard to find _their_ files."

I hummed. "Well. I'm not getting too involved. I need to get around to the passage rings. I've got quite a few ideas for those things, but I need to get them all put back together so they're usable again."

Guy looked baffled. "Why?"

I looked over, shrugged, and then glanced around. "Simple answer? Because I want to see just how much I can do with them. Less simple and far more politically concerning? Because if I don't lay some kind of claim on them now, that tech falls into the hands of whoever holds the territory around it, and if someone gets _into_ those computers, they can figure out what I'm doing inside Daath and Kimlasca, and potentially sabotage it. And that... would not end well."

"How much trouble could a simple hack cause?" Jade asked. "It's not like the passage rings are going to be keeping the land floating a few thousand feet above the surface anymore."

I looked up at Jade and resisted the urge to punch him.

"Jade."

"Uh-oh. I said the wrong thing, didn't I?"

"I have every intention of interconnecting the passage ring here at the tower to the passage ring at Mt. Roneal in such a manner as to form a permanent portal kind of bridge between the two locations," I said bluntly. "And that kind of tech could easily be duplicated and put into _all_ of the passage rings, which would make it easier for me or whoever else happened to be doing maintenance, to get to all of them, so that might happen anyway. But put that tech in the hands of someone like, say... Mohs?"

Guy and Jade both winced. "War. He'd be able to plant explosives, or anything else potentially conflict-sparking, on either side of the border," Jade muttered. "Right. So we need to keep that locked down so that only authorized people can access it..." He stopped and shot me a look. "Are you sure you'd be able to make stable portals?"

I shrugged. "Not one hundred percent certain, but between my ideas, Kade's vague memories of the last technological revolution before the Dawn Age—by the way, why does Auldrant seem to like flip-flopping between high-tech and low-tech?—and probably more than a few brains geared toward engineering, Guy's included, we could probably work it out."

"What do you mean, Auldrant keeps flipping between high-tech and low-tech?" Jade grumbled. "I know we lost a lot of knowledge of Dawn Age tech over two thousand years, but I thought that was just because of the number of wars that have happened between then and now."

Guy and I both shook our heads, and I gave Guy an amused look.

"The Ferines in the Clans time had records of what they called the Kingdom of Terises. And the information I could find on the technology of the time almost made Dawn Age tech look old school," he said.

I nodded. "Kade actually has memories of the Kingdom of Terises, although the Orerines didn't call it that. Still, the fact that the technology was so far ahead of its time then, and then suddenly disappeared, only for the Dawn Age to happen almost three thousand years later... Well. I think we might be on the edge of yet another technological revolution, and..." I stopped and sighed. "I think I might know what keeps causing the tech crashes, so to speak. The Dawn Age really only took off _after_ the Planet Storm was implemented, and even then, the Planet Storm never quite made up for the sealed sentiences. That would explain the lower level of tech in the Dawn Age than the Ferines and Kade saw in the Kingdom of Terises."

Jade and Guy both looked down at me as we reached the barracks, realization seeming to hit both of them at the same time.

"You think the fontech got too taxing on the fonons, and then... what, exactly?" Guy asked.

I shrugged. "Undine sure destroyed those generators in Baticul pretty fast, for all the warning I got of her arriving."

Jade blinked, then glanced at Guy, who tilted his head to the side. Then the blonde turned and took off running, and I crossed my arms.

"Someone just had an idea. I don't think I want to know what it was," I said. "I'm going to get some sleep. Jade?"

"Yes?"

"Wake me up if Ifrit and Dark finish early. If not... eh. I'll figure out my sleeping schedule again when I'm back on a proper schedule," I said, already turning and stepping into the barracks set aside for me and the other two women on the team.

"You're going to regret that," Jade informed me, sounding far too amused.

I just glanced over my shoulder and grinned before closing the door, walking over to my bed, and falling into it. I couldn't be bothered to really do more than that, and within minutes, I'd fallen fast asleep.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

" _Hey! It's you again!"_

 _I turned, blinked, and smiled. "Yes. It's good to see you again, too, Lloyd."_

 _Lloyd grinned up at me and ran over. "You been kicking the bad guys' butts?" he asked excitedly. I laughed._

" _Only a couple, unfortunately," I said. "No, I've been far more involved with tech stuff."_

 _Lloyd found a grassy spot, sat down, and tilted his head at me curiously. "Tech stuff?"_

 _I hummed and looked around. Odd. I was in my usual area. "How long have you been here?" I asked._

 _The boy seemed to shrink in on himself. "A while. I don't wanna go back, though. You just got here!"_

 _I smiled. "I wasn't going to send you home just yet. But maybe we should move closer to your home? I'd hate for your father and uncle to worry if you didn't come back in a reasonable time."_

" _Uncle Danté's still not back." Lloyd looked decidedly upset about this, and I glanced up at the red-violet sky. Well. I supposed..._

" _I guess I could go pay a visit to Doppel, make sure he hasn't gotten into any trouble," I said._

 _Lloyd blinked a few times, almost looking like he was going to jump on the offer, before he seemed to realize the other implications. "You'd have to leave to do that, wouldn't you?"_

 _I nodded._

" _...Stay?"_

 _I smiled, picked the boy up, and started walking, Lloyd clinging to my side. "I'll look into it another time," I told him. "I need to do it, anyway."_

 _Lloyd grinned._

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I will have to re-adjust my ADL timeline thanks to this chapter, where I realized that it's been a little over half an Auldrant year since Danté got thrown to Aselia. Now, why Lloyd hasn't gone from a five-year-old to a six-year-old at_ least _when I'm pretty sure Aselia has the same (or at least a much closer) year-length calendar Earth has, I will explain in a later chapter._

 _However, since this is supposed to be about 7 months down the line, and by this point in the current draft of ADL, Danté should have left Iselia (2-month mark), returned (5-month mark), and then left_ again _(6-month mark), I will have to go through and edit the timeline to make everything line up. So that's going to be one of my main projects in August. Getting A Dying Light to be compliant with what's happened in An Echo through Time._

 _(Especially since, after a re-read, that scene where Lloyd sees Kairi 'die' is supposed to happen after Danté comes back from the first run-around, and thanks to timing, now will need to happen pre-run-around.)_

 _One of these days, my characters will let me plot ahead far enough for stuff like this to NOT happen._


	93. Chapter 12-7 Part 93

_Prepare for mass-uploading! (Because I finally got a bunch edited.) What's this specific one for, you ask? Why, I finished the sky, ocean, and Eldrant in the background of my picture! XD (Actually, did that back on the 5_ _th_ _. I've just been a bit lazy. XP)_

 _Is It Over_ YET?!

 _(Well, this Chapter is. XD)_

* * *

" _I'm sure you do, but I get the feeling that wasn't how that sentence was supposed to come out." –Kairi_

" _Good morning, Gaius." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 12.7 – Is It Over Yet?  
Part 93**

Weeks passed on me. I got swept up in Order of Lorelei preparations and passage ring work.

I finally managed to get a few hours to go back to Earth, and was a bit disheartened by the situation Doppel was forcing herself to get through.

The fact that we were both just too damn stubborn to give up kept me smiling, though, and I was able to let Lloyd know that Danté was headed back home safely.

It had been exactly four weeks since the fight with Star by the time we finally managed to bury her, and I was among a very small group attending the funeral.

To be honest, I wasn't sure why I was there.

Reighn had been her partner when they'd both been in the Order. Flick was her replica. Ryndor had taken her and Zion in when he'd found them out in this general area after the Ion replicas had been created.

Dark and I were the odd ones out, but we were here, and I had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that we'd been the ones to kill her in the end.

Reighn stepped up to the small grave and finally placed the object he'd been fiddling with into an indentation in the stone. I couldn't help but be impressed by the little pendant that he stuck into the grave marker.

And it was definitely a pendant. A blue teardrop shape, with silver wrapping around it, and almost seeming to sparkle off of one spot on the rounded end.

I got the feeling there was some sort of a meaning behind the pendant, but Reighn didn't say anything, and I was a definite odd person out here, so neither did I.

In fact, I had the feeling I was here for one reason, and one reason alone. A reason that I really didn't like, because I liked not having massive amounts of miasma shoved into my body.

I stood back and away as Flick and then Ryndor placed flowers and a small, engraved stone at the base of the grave. Reighn was the last one standing there, however, still staring at the teardrop pendant.

Then he sighed. "I wish you two could have had the chance to talk, Star," I heard him murmur.

He turned, walked over to join the rest of us, and I grimaced and pulled on the miasma inside me.

Dark vanished in a flash of light as the miasma shot out from me and pulled me and the other three along, back to Eldrant.

I swayed a little bit as it all came snapping back into my body, in larger quantities than had left, and I was not at all pleased about the oddly sick-to-my-stomach feeling it had left me with.

"Kairi... Thanks," Reighn murmured. "I really hadn't wanted to get anyone else involved."

I shot him a small, forced smile. "I know. Your welcome."

I turned and walked off, knowing full well that I needed to get rid of some of this miasma, and the only way to do that involved me finding Asch, Luke, or Lorelei.

Asch was easy—follow the familiar beacon of a mind that I could feel against my loose telepathic field. The other two less so, and unnecessary at the moment, as I could get to Asch.

He knew the drill, and was more than capable of dealing with the miasma that was currently trapped inside my body.

I hoped that he'd be available now, or soon at least. It was more likely that his time and attention was preoccupied with a meeting, but a girl could hope.

"Kairi."

I froze, glanced at the redhead next to me, and noted the long hair.

Lorelei.

"Need something?" I asked.

"Two things. First, can you do something about the miasma you're exuding, or do you need my or Asch's help? Second... Can I bother you about something?"

I blinked a few times, then shrugged and held out my hands, mentally directing the miasma to form up into a small orb between them.

And, for the most part, it did. An orb that Lorelei did a very good job of getting rid of nice and quickly.

I smiled once it was gone. "Thank you. I really don't like having all of that excess making me feel sick to my stomach," I admitted. "So, what's bugging you?"

Lorelei sighed and turned, gesturing for me to follow as he started walking. "It's just... Gnome, the few times when I spoke to him while he was sealed in his monolith and I was still free... He acted completely different from what Shadow remembered, completely different from how he's acted since you forced that pendant back into him."

I blinked. "You've seen Gnome since then?"

Lorelei nodded. "Yeah. He's... Uh. Actually, I think I'd better not say."

I crossed my arms. "Lorelei."

He looked over at me. "Yeah?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What, exactly, do you think I'd do with the information, beyond maybe popping into wherever he's hiding just to say 'hi'?"

Lorelei looked sheepish. "It's... not you I'm really worried about. I... I'm not completely sure I can trust this change in heart. I mean..."

"Lorelei, I don't think you understand exactly what that pendant was," I started. "That pendant was made almost completely of second fonons. And, admittedly, a good number of fifth fonons were needed to make the metals, and there were a few sixth fonons to give the gems the not-quite illusion of being lit from within. But more than the sixth fonons... That pendant held not one, but _two_ of Gnome's spirit Energies. Two parts of a whole numbering around thirty. One-fifteenth of his very _soul_."

Lorelei looked over at me with wide eyes, and I shrugged and nodded.

"I could do it," I admitted. "But that..." I stopped and shuddered. "Well. You saw what happened to Gnome, and that was one-fifteenth. Maybe even a slightly smaller or larger portion, considering thirty is an estimate and not an exact number. I've only got eleven spirit Energies, so to pull even a single one loose and shove it into an object like that..." Another shudder.

And that just brought my mind back around to the Rages.

They'd been the ones to realize it was even possible.

More information returned as I thought about it, and I remembered something Sarah and I had discovered.

Every person who tried to do it _became_ a Rage.

I hugged myself and looked well away from Lorelei. "So. Gnome."

"He really did love Anastasia, didn't he?"

I nodded. "Yes, he did." I looked up at the redhead and offered a small smile. "It's... a unique feeling, loving someone enough to trust them with your very soul. And given the fact that Gnome seemed to still be stable up until Anastasia broke his trust... Actually, I don't think that was it."

I stopped, eyes darting around unseeing as I considered something.

Gnome had run to Anastasia to see if the rumors were true, and he'd hoped they weren't, but...

"Anastasia gave the pendant to Shadow."

"Yes. What of it?"

I blinked at Lorelei, then glanced ahead of me, then looked at him again, and then closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "It's over. It doesn't matter. It's done. It's been fixed..." I stopped and frowned. "Nope."

My eyes snapped open as a telepathic field snapped out over Eldrant. I was looking for one person in particular, and...

There he was. Asleep. Well, not anymore.

I _shoved_ , and Saphir yelped—given the unique double tones, I'd say out loud as well as mentally—as he startled awake.

*What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!*

*Where is Shadow?*

Saphir went very still at the barely-contained irritation that still managed to color my mental voice.

*Uh...* He didn't say more than that to me, instead prodding Shadow. A moment later, he prodded me with a vague feeling question that had him exasperated a moment later.

Regardless, I understood. *I'm with Lorelei, about a kilometer east of Thalassa's spring,* I replied.

Saphir sent back a vague sense of gratitude/irritation/go-away before he shoved something toward Shadow, shoved me out, and went back to sleep.

Shadow slipped out of the treeline a minute later. "What did you do to wake Saphir up and dare I ask _why_ you felt the need to do so?" he asked.

I turned and motioned for him to stand in front of me.

He did.

I punched him.

The resulting expressions on his and Lorelei's faces were spectacularly hilarious.

Enough to make me laugh, which helped to get rid of a lot of the pent-up stress that had been building over the last few minutes.

"Um..." Shadow started.

"You... well, no... I won't... haha... I won't say you deserved that... But it did... make me feel much better..." I said between laughs. "Gimme... hehe... gimme a minute..."

Lorelei continued giving me a worried look, and by the time I got the giggles under control, Asch was walking up with Jade, and I was, admittedly, still grinning.

"You okay there?" Lorelei asked warily.

I nodded. "Much better now. By the way. I won't say for certain, but I will take a fairly educated guess," I started, crossing my arms and leveling a _look_ on Shadow. "If you'd never accepted that pendant from Anastasia, Gnome likely would have realized she was being blackmailed and all would have ended well three thousand years ago."

Silence hung around all of us for a long few minutes, to the point where I had to shift my weight multiple times to make the ache in my right knee and left hip—I'd landed on that side a few too many times, it seemed—go away. Or, well, not really go away, but at least stop hurting so much.

My right knee was really starting to ache again, though, and I'd only _just_ transferred my weight, so after realizing that everyone was still staring, I simply crossed my right leg over my left and sank down until I was sitting crosslegged in a smooth movement that probably would have had them staring... if they hadn't been already.

And, well, Shadow was still sprawled out from where my punch had actually knocked him over.

"Um. I've got a question," Jade started. "Why is Shadow on his ass?"

"Fell over after I punched him."

"I see. And I'm guessing your knee is getting to you... any particular reason why your left leg is hurting?" he continued.

I grimaced. "Left hip's a little sore. Think I landed on it a few too many times trying to avoid landing on my right hip and making putting weight on my right leg even worse."

"You are a physical disaster zone, you know that, right?" Asch asked.

I nodded.

"Uh, guys? Or, well, Kairi?" Lorelei started, gaining our attention.

"Yeah?"

"What do you mean, if Shadow hadn't taken the pendant?"

I sighed, leaned back, and let my upper body lay horizontal. "Gnome was stable _before_ the whole mess with Anastasia rejecting him. Before that... but _after_ he made that pendant. It means that Anastasia was capable of basically helping to keep that piece of his soul connected to the larger part, even though it was still separate," I replied. "It wasn't until _after_ that point in time that Gnome lost it, remember? Anastasia shoved the pendant off on Shadow, hoping he'd take it back to Gnome. And once it _was_ returned, Gnome stabilized again. But between that point and me shoving those spirit Energies back in with the others?"

I looked over at Asch meaningfully, and wasn't surprised that he looked sick to his stomach. "So we've been in one giant paradox this whole time."

"Yup."

Silence followed this statement, almost as heavy and constricting as the initial silence had been, and I glanced around, wondering if anyone was going to come along and wonder what the hell was going on here that Shadow and I were on the ground and Asch, Jade, and Lorelei all looked torn between horror and confusion.

Lorelei swallowed harshly. "I... shit."

I snorted. "I'm sure you do, but I get the feeling that wasn't how that sentence was supposed to come out."

Quite unsurprisingly, Lorelei's expression was priceless, and had Jade and Asch chuckling as well, while Shadow sat up and looked over at me.

"You realize what this means, don't you?"

"If you _hadn't_ gone back to poke around, none of this would have happened?" I asked.

"I waited another six years to do it in the other timeline."

"So? The point is, you went back at all and took the pendant," I pointed out. "You could have waited another ten thousand years to go back, just so long as Anastasia gave you the pendant. Mind you, without it, you couldn't have stabilized Gnome. And what happened to it in Myre's timeline?"

Shadow grimaced. "Rem took it. Saw it, took it... what she did with it, I don't know. I just know I never saw it again after I _tried_ to give it back."

I hummed. "Remind me to make sure she stays grounded for a couple thousand years. She deserves it."

Lorelei rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless. Anyway, since we're pretty much certain Gnome is mentally stable again, ah..." He stopped and blinked at me, then tapped the side of his head.

Getting the point, I opened a channel.

*St. Binah,* was the only thing he said before shutting it down again. Then he shot Asch a look I couldn't make sense of, turned, and walked off, the faint glow I spotted after a bit telling me just where he'd gone.

I stood and brushed myself off, then looked around. Asch. Jade. Shadow.

Eh. Safe enough. They were giving me a wide berth.

"I'll be back in a while," I said, pulling up miasma.

If I was just teleporting myself, I could do it easily. If I was trying to move multiple people, that was where the problems started, and the problems, while not all that harmful, were... annoying.

I landed just outside St. Binah, and smiled a bit as I watched all of the soldiers running around, some carrying supplies, others helping to direct the civilians to their tasks in the rebuilding, and in the middle of all of it was a man with a very familiar countenance, albeit no longer wearing the distinctive uniform he'd worn before.

Gnome's resemblance to Hugo Weaving was not one that I had ever expected, but at least it made him very much distinctive.

I slipped around people, and noticed that he was a part of a group of men carrying supplies from one site to another.

I grabbed a box, slipped in next to him, and smiled. "Good morning, Gaius."

Gnome gaped at me wordlessly.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _This one brought to you by me dumping the Kairi Punches Shadow scene into the Skype chat and Brian coming up with this..._

 _Me: Yes, Lorelei did call Asch in when Kairi punched Shadow.  
Brian: "Hey, Asch, that crazy girl's acting all crazy. You should probably do that protagonist thing you always do." / "Wait, what?"  
Me: lol. She's his fiancé.  
Brian: Oh, my bad. "Hey Asch, that crazy girl you call a girlfriend is acting all crazy. You should probably do that human-romance-ritual thing you always do." / "Wait... what?"_

 _Hope you all found this as hilarious as I did._


	94. Chapter 13-1 Part 94

_And this one is for... -drumroll- The completion of a drawing of Kairi's Promise Ring. (Which I finished back on the 6_ _th_ _. Yes, I have a bit of a backlog to dump on you guys. Oh, and it's on my DeviantART, so... :D)_

* * *

 _*Shadow's going to be wearing the same coat he always is, Sylph's a fairy for crying out loud, and Lorelei's fallen in love with that damn scarf. If you think we're getting any one of them into something fancier, you're nuts.* –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.1 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 94**

I was never so glad to be in the pilot's seat of the Albiore III as I was when I was flying out to St. Binah to pick up the last person on my list of people to find and take to Yulia City.

The reason I was glad to be flying? If I was running just a little bit late, I could blame it on turbulence, or a navigating instrument not quite working right, and no one would be able to argue with me unless Noelle, Ginji, or Guy really, really wanted to point out that I was being a bit of a pest about it all.

I really didn't want to go do this. It was just going to be another long, boring meeting, mostly discussing the resources, the rebuilding projects, and we wouldn't really even be touching on the details of the new treaty yet.

But that was all later. For now...

I landed the Albiore III lightly and reached out into St. Binah, nudging the mind of one Aslan Frings. *You're wanted at the Yulia City Peace Conference. Albiore's outside the city,* I told him.

*Thanks. Jade sent a message, but I wasn't sure exactly _how_ they planned on collecting me,* Aslan replied. I closed off that channel mostly and made sure the ramp was lowered before I started looking for someone else.

*Hey.*

Gnome shoved me right back out before he tentatively tapped against the field again, and the channel reopened. *...You really should not startle me,* he pointed out.

I smiled a bit and looked up at the sky through the cockpit's windows. *Probably.*

There was a pause. *You are near St. Binah, then?* he asked.

*Sitting outside in the Albiore III,* I replied. *Waiting to pick up Brigadier General Aslan Frings for another peace conference in Yulia City.* I paused to take a deep, bracing breath. *Given the turns our last conversation took, the fact that this will be the first time in about a month that we've had all eight Clan Heads together, and also considering that Shadow, Sylph, and Lorelei will with certainty be attending and Undine and Ifrit have also expressed a possibility of showing up, I thought I might offer you an invitation.*

There was a longer pause as Gnome considered it. I didn't pressure him, and even after I felt Aslan board, I wasn't going to take off until Gnome had made up his mind.

In fact, the first place Aslan came after boarding was the cockpit. "Were we waiting on someone else?" he asked.

I glanced back at him, then shrugged. "I've extended the invitation, but it's just that—an invitation. Not a summons."

*I'm not certain I vould be villing to put the uniform on again,* Gnome mused.

Not an outright 'no.'

*You don't have to. Shadow's going to be wearing the same coat he always is, Sylph's a _fairy_ for crying out loud, and Lorelei's fallen in love with that damn scarf. If you think we're getting any one of them into something fancier, you're nuts. Also, most of us are at least friends. If not, acquaintances,* I replied.

*Then I vill be along just as soon as I can find my jacket. I imagine it vill be cooler there than here, and I do not much care for the cold.*

Something that had amused the hell out of me, and which I understood quite well, as I detested the cold myself.

*I'll be here. Albiore's not going anywhere until I feel like booting her engines up again.* Because, after about twenty minutes of not really doing anything, they were designed to automatically shut down.

The channel thinned down a lot, and I glanced over my shoulder. Aslan had left to either find a cabin for the time being, or to find someone else to talk to.

There was a small kitchen down in the belly of the ship, and if he headed down there, he'd find Tear. Aside from her, there were only a few others on the ship—Florian, Anise, Largo, and Reighn—and most of them were still asleep, as they'd either had a late night (Reighn and Anise) or had been on Daath time and would need the naps to keep awake during the meeting (Florian and Largo).

I kept tabs on Gnome as he walked out to the Albiore, and started getting the engines running again.

Gnome walked into the cockpit just as I was finishing the startup, and I glanced back and shot him a smile. "Might want to sit down. Flying's probably not going to be comfortable for you."

"Not likely, but as I am not entirely certain vhere I might find Yulia City, and I am not so crazy as to play trial and error in the middle of the ocean, I vill put up vith it," he said, sitting in the co-pilot's seat. I hummed.

"Flip that orange switch for me please."

He did so, and I glanced over his outfit, trying and admittedly failing to not smirk a bit. To be honest, the uniform had suited him better, but the jeans, sturdy work boots, tank top, and jacket reminded me rather strongly of home.

"Vhat is so amusing?"

That not-so-hidden smirk turned into a smile as I looked over at him again. "Your current wardrobe. It reminds me of home. Something Asch's _almost_ did, once. His coat ruined it. Yours... doesn't."

Gnome didn't respond to that immediately, even as I finally managed to get the engines primed fully for take-off. I picked up the rarely-used radio and pressed down the blue button.

"Take-off in three minutes," I warned the other passengers over the intercom.

Most of the time, the group as a whole tended to stay in the cockpit with the pilot.

This time, though, it was just me and Gnome up here, until someone decided to come bother us, and I didn't want to have too many people falling over and potentially hurting themselves if I took off without warning.

Three minutes was about how long it took me to raise the ramp, run the last of the pre-flight scans, and then strap myself in. Gnome did the same without prompting, and I had a feeling having him do so would have been better than if he hadn't.

I pulled the controls back slowly, letting us gain altitude relatively gently, and smiled a bit once we'd cleared the tree line, as that allowed me to start actually moving.

Movement was fun, at least so far as I was concerned. I knew that Gnome probably wouldn't appreciate the normal altitudes I flew at, so I took us only as high as the bottom safe range that Class I had determined for the Albiores before turning and heading off for Yulia City.

I could have set the autopilot, but that controlled altitude as well as direction, and the autopilot altitude was another six thousand feet higher.

Maybe six thousand feet wasn't much, when you considered the fact that I was already a good ten thousand feet in the air and Gnome already looked a bit airsick, but I wasn't so cruel as to add that extra space.

Gnome got the nausea under control rather quickly, and finally looked over at me. I was aware of his staring, but didn't speak. Letting him go first would probably get me the actual question, and not a re-direction.

"Vhy vould you leave a vorld that you so clearly loved for this one?"

I glanced over at him, looked ahead, and then sighed. "I... I can't say I loved Earth. I can't really say I love Auldrant either, I don't think." I stopped and tilted my head to the side. "I prefer Auldrant over Earth, though. But... it's not the world itself that's important to me. It's the people in it. And... yeah, I kinda miss my life on Earth. Hell of a lot less complicated, at least. There, I'm just another dork of a girl working a sucky job for a really stupid state in the middle of the country. I don't have the responsibilities I do here."

I sighed again. "I also don't have all of the friends I do here. I mean, Doppel's got a boyfriend, and I've got Asch, and don't try to make me explain how that works, because it's confusing as all hell, but..." I shook my head, double-checked our course and altitude, and then looked over at Gnome again. "I've got my brothers. I've got my sister, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law. I've got all my friends, and their friends, and... I've got a purpose. I'm... I don't really like it, but I'm the Commandant of the Order of Lorelei. I've got people depending on me to do my job. And... I can't bring myself to let them down."

Gnome smiled a bit, though it was heavily tinged with sadness. "Ana vould have loved you. She vould have vanted to steal you avay from this 'Order of Lorelei' and make you her own General. You have handled this... fighting... so much better than I vould have."

I snorted. "I really don't think she would have wanted me that much. The only reason Florian puts up with me is because he's a kid and doesn't know better. At least Cantabile was still mostly mentally stable."

"You are more sane than you give yourself credit for, I think. And stronger, for your ability to bounce back from any... episodes."

I didn't respond to that. Couldn't, really. Because the honest answer was something that, while I did want to share with Gnome...

Well. I didn't want to share it right then, and he'd just have to understand that for now.

Because the honest answer ran along the lines of 'No, I'm thoroughly unstable. I've just got a lot of friends willing to go to hell and back, and drag me along kicking and screaming out of whatever hole I've dug for myself.'

I couldn't bring myself to voice it, and Gnome didn't press, instead letting his head fall back as he closed his eyes and fought down the nausea that was still threatening to get to him.

He didn't move until we reached Yulia City, and I started dropping as I came in to land next to the Albiore II.

His head tilted forward and golden-brown eyes slid open, and I smiled a bit.

"Felt the ground getting a little closer?"

"Yes. This distance, I can handle. Being out over the open ocean at that height... that vas probably not a good idea, and I vill not be doing it again any time soon."

"Thankfully, you won't have to, am I right?" I asked, giving him a cheeky grin.

He shot me an amused look. "Thankfully."

I giggled a bit as I twisted the Albiore III around, then started hovering a bit.

It took a little finagling to get myself right where I wanted to land, and then lower the Albiore. The small space provided was only _just_ large enough for both airships, and as an on-again/off-again pilot, I didn't like having to do that fancy flying myself.

Once we'd landed, I started shutting down the engines and setting the systems checks to start up. Ginji had flown here with Noelle, so he'd be coming in to check it while I was dealing with the... erk. Politics.

Once I had nothing else I could possibly do to delay the inevitable, I unstrapped myself and got up, helping to pull Gnome up out of the lowered seating and then heading back toward the exit from the cockpit.

We met up with Largo along the way, and then Tear at the lowered ramp.

Both of them stared a bit at my companion, but Largo didn't recognize him, so didn't bother looking for long.

"Aslan, Anise, Florian, and Reighn went on ahead," the pseudo-God-General told me.

I called him a 'pseudo-God-General,' but really, he was doing more of the job than a number of the still-official God-Generals were.

I knew that this was going to be a pain in the ass for the Order. We'd only just managed to get settled after the Absorption Gate, and now it was looking like we'd need to fill out the God-Generals again.

I stepped off the Albiore III with Gnome on my heels, and noted that he still looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Not close enough to the earth?" I asked, knowing full well that Yulia City was held in place by anchors rooted deep in the planet.

"It is better than the flying machine," Gnome grunted. I hummed a bit and led the way to the correct meeting place, noting that there seemed to be quite a few people wandering around. More than I was used to seeing, at least.

Looked like there were a _lot_ of people here to arrange the rebuilding and the new treaty.

Tear stuck close by me, and Largo trailed behind a bit, both of them still occasionally glancing at Gnome.

"Any idea on how well this is going to go over?" Tear asked. "I know there were still some arguments about allowing the Ferines their autonomy before..."

I rolled my eyes. "Traditionalists. Malkuth, Kimlasca, and Daath have been the only true countries recognized by all leaderships for a few _centuries_. Chesedonia's autonomy is an oddity born of the Hod War."

"And since we've also got the replicas demanding land..."

"Yup. Mind you, half of the group that'll be in attendance today we're either friends with, or pretty good acquaintances with, so there shouldn't be _too_ many problems. That other half is mostly going to be smart enough not to argue. It's the ones who _do_ argue that we get to pick apart their arguments. And that's mostly why I'm actually bothering to show up," I replied.

"One vould think you vould be showing up regardless, as the Commandant," Gnome pointed out.

I grimaced. "To be honest, it's not official yet. Records and procedure say Cantabile's still the Commandant, officially. And the God-Generals aren't _required_ to be in attendance, though attendance has been requested." I shrugged. "Unfortunately, if I ditched it, I'd have Lorelei on my ass. The bad thing about being a literal container for a being that is effectively a sentience of something that is his exact opposite means he can track me."

Gnome chuckled a bit at that, apparently being quite amused by the whole situation.

I found the large meeting room finally, and glanced around. Looked like the seats were labeled, and of course everyone knew who to stand with.

The reactions of Shadow and Sylph were probably what drew everyone's attention to me and the man stepping into the room behind me, and if they didn't know who Gnome was, Sylph informed them within seconds.

Watching someone else get nearly tackled by the excitable wind element was rather amusing, and from Gnome's fondly exasperated expression...

Well. Looked like I hadn't always been her favorite person to cling to.

Asch looked over and smiled. "Glad you could make it."

I just snorted.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So... Yeah. Gnome._

 _-sighs- I'm so glad the whole Spirit Energy thing came up. Because otherwise, his personality flip-flopping would have driven me crazy._

 _Sadly, I still need to write_ _A Bucket of Stones_ _._

 _(What is that, you ask? Good question. Ask me again in about 6 months, when I've grown weary of the Lights cast and have returned to one of the Ripples offshoot stories just to get away from them.)_


	95. Chapter 13-2 Part 95

_This one is for the completion of the background of the Tataroo Valley pic. (July 8_ _th_ _.) That grass took forever, and could probably look better, but I had to restart FOUR times. I'm not doing it AGAIN._

 _Which meant all that was left of that was the shading on Asch, Kairi, and their weapons, and the overlay/title layers. XD_

 _May or may not post the picture where I drew myself hiding within that drawing. -is shot for silliness-_

* * *

" _Natalia, darling... I'm sorry to have to inform you. You have been corrupted." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.2 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 95**

It was one thing to sit through a political debate.

It was another to listen to the same twenty people making the same argument over and over again for almost three hours, only to be shot down repeatedly—with the same arguments.

I took a deep breath, let it out, and glanced up at the ceiling, wondering idly if unleashing a sunburst might get everyone to shut up for a bit.

Actually, it probably wouldn't. I glanced around a bit, pointedly ignoring whoever was currently arguing for whatever the current toy they wanted was—typically Eldrant, but occasionally it had something to do with the sentiences—as I tried to see who was actually paying attention, and who else was to the point of ignoring the idiots.

The only people paying attention, it seemed, were the other idiots trying to get whatever the speaking idiot wanted as well.

I glanced down the table at Teodoro, who seemed to have been relegated to playing mediator for all of these meetings, and tilted my head to the side, then tapped a finger against my arm in a predetermined pattern.

He'd stopped paying more than passing attention to the idiot, too, so when he tilted his head to the right slightly, I opened up a telepathic channel happily.

Any chance we might be able to call a break? We've been in here for three hours now, and I'm sure _someone_ , probably _multiple_ someones, need to make a flying run to the bathroom.

Teodoro fought down a smirk. Actually, given the hour... He trailed off, gave the speaker what _looked_ like his full attention, and once the speaker was done, he stood up. "Thank you for your explanation, however, it is getting late and we have been here for three hours now. I propose to adjourn for the evening."

Not even some of the annoyances who wanted the Ferines, or the replicas, or Eldrant, or whatever they wanted, were going to argue with _that_.

The decision was almost unanimous, and we were able to get out of that room finally.

I was halfway to one of the warp pads to the underbelly before anyone managed to catch up to me.

"Did you _teleport_ out of there or was that just an optical illusion produced by the speed at which you felt the need to vacate the room?" Shadow asked, having to jog to keep up with my long strides.

I snickered. "Teleporting would have gotten me bitched at by Lorelei. I don't hear Lorelei bitching, so I must not have teleported."

"Could've fooled me," Dark grunted. I shot him a look.

"This, from the man who _did_ teleport."

"Yes, yes I did. In case you didn't notice, you were a lot closer to the door than I was."

I just kept snickering, even as I reached the western maintenance warp. It wasn't active, which meant the researchers must not have been using it often. It certainly didn't take me long to get it activated, and we stepped up onto it, though I wasn't sure why Shadow was coming along.

"Oh. Wow. Nice and dark... wherever we are now," Shadow mused, wandering off with an ease born of being completely familiar with the darkness.

I slipped over to the wall to flip the switch that would turn on the lights in the paths, and Shadow froze as his footsteps activated one of the sections.

"You might be able to walk around in the dark, but it's a lot harder for us," I pointed out, heading in the opposite direction. "So, why are you two following me around?"

Not that I didn't appreciate the company... Okay, right then, I didn't appreciate the company. But still.

"I'm under orders from Asch to make sure you don't run off," Dark replied.

"Doesn't he know that Lorelei can find me if worse comes to worst and I've vanished?" I asked.

"He can?"

"Rem and Shadow can find each other, and if Kade bothered, he could find Lorelei." I stopped to give Dark a look. "There's a reason why Kade's summoner gets the title 'Agent of the Miasma.' I'm a literal prison for miasma, and that basically means Kade, too. It's a little different for the other sentiences because every human is made up of fonons. Just, having the tie to the sentiences leans you a little more toward one of those elements. The miasma isn't a fonon."

Shadow nodded. "She's right. Lorelei could find her simply by looking for Kade. Unless Kade's formed up outside her body, which is something he can't do for long, or without being summoned, finding Kade means finding his prison, which _is_ Kairi."

Dark looked amused. "So... That means I need to go tell Asch that so I can find Natalia?"

"Yup," I replied cheerfully. "And, well, I'm in Yulia City. No reason for me not to just play around in the underbelly like I always do. And I've got a loose telepathic field down. Just call me up when dinner's ready. No promises I'll come up exactly when you call, but..."

"I'll tell Asch. I'm sure he'll come down and drag you up around bedtime, anyway," Dark replied, turning and heading back to the warp.

I looked over at Shadow. "And you're following me because...?"

Shadow smiled. "Thank you."

I blinked a few times, then tilted my head to the side. "What are you thanking me for?"

"You brought Gnome. Gave us a chance to start reconnecting."

I blinked at him a few times, then shook my head. "That's not something you need to thank me for, Shadow. He just needed some time to work out what 'normal' was again. He'd have come to find the rest of you on his own time, once he'd figured out who he was again," I told him. I paused and glanced around, then sighed and walked right past my usual terminal. I hadn't really done _that_ much exploring in all my time down here, as I was usually more preoccupied with playing around with the different programs I could get into on the computers.

Right now, though, I needed to keep moving. Maybe not as fast as I'd come down here, but movement meant I was unpredictable, a little harder to find, and I didn't want to be found.

I'd have liked to ditch Shadow, but I had a feeling he felt like sticking to his name, and _being_ a shadow.

"You two seem to be getting along rather well," Shadow finally said.

I nodded. "Dark was in the same situation he was in. And... in a way... So was I."

Shadow gave me an odd look, and I shrugged. "What? I'm from another world, but... I'm not important on Earth. Only reason I'm even mildly important here, family-wise, is because Nephry adopted me, and Jade is the emperor's right hand. Even with the Order of Lorelei... I feel like I've kinda cheated, getting my position right now. Reighn basically just handed it to me, and yeah, I took it pretty well, but..." I stopped and shook my head. "When it comes right down to it, Dark, Gnome, and I are all in the same boat. A bunch of commoners, working their way up the ladder in the military, or in my case, proving that I did earn my position in some way, shape, or form, and trying to keep the nobles we've claimed as a part of our families close."

Shadow was silent for a bit as we walked, before he sighed. "Yeah. I can see how that might lead to the two of you at least having someplace to start as far as a conversation goes."

I didn't say anything. Didn't need to.

Shadow vanished after a little while, simply stepping off of the platform into the shadows where he disappeared from all my senses, and I figured he'd gone elsewhere. We wouldn't be meeting up again in that room until morning, so until Asch started bugging me to come up and eat, I'd just stay down here and walk around.

In the end, though, it wasn't Asch that came to get me. It was Reighn. And I was rather grateful that he chose not to actually talk much. He seemed caught up in his own thoughts, and I was caught up in mine, and since his didn't seem to be edging down that path towards 'we're all gonna die', I didn't see any reason to interrupt his thinking.

"Good grief. Talk about silent and stormy," Guy muttered as we walked into the building that had been set aside for us. Though we were all from different countries, our group still seemed stubbornly set on staying together, and I took this as a good sign. It meant we'd probably stick together through all of the political nonsense that was threatening to erupt.

I found a seat at one of the tables—looked like it was the mostly Malkuthian one, since Jade, Aslan, and Selenia were all here, but I didn't really care—and glanced around. Asch wasn't here at all, I noted.

"Asch and Luke out practicing something again?" I asked, knowing that the two ran off rather often to practice coordinating their attacks through their own brand of telepathy. Something Lorelei had recently started joining as well.

"No, I think Asch actually teleported out of Yulia City altogether for the night," Tear said as she walked over, apparently playing waitress even as Dark and Sync left the kitchen with more food.

"Oh. Need some help with plates?" I asked.

"Thanks, but I think we've got it... Got it, Fallon?"

Fallon nodded as she walked over to one of the other tables in the large room, setting them down and then half-dancing back to the kitchen.

I knew Fallon was here as a representative for the replicas, just like Guy was acting as Tear's right hand for this, but...

I sat back against the seat and looked around. We were just missing Asch and Luke, it looked like. Everyone else was here.

"So... Assuming we can get past the idiotic arguments for why the Ferines should not be given Eldrant and their autonomy..." I started.

"Can we please save the political discussion for after dinner?" Jade moaned.

"I was just going to mention the fact that the Clans situation is supposed to be addressed sometime tomorrow morning, assuming we can get back on schedule," I said. Then I shrugged. "I'd really just like to get that out of the way. If the idiots want to keep up after that, they can do as they wish. That was basically the only reason I didn't bother using my 'I'm still legally only a God-General and you can't force me to come' card."

That did, at least, get a few of them to laugh, even while Guy gave me a confused look. "Wait, you could have actually done that?"

Jade nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. As the Commandant, Kairi is required to attend... however, she hasn't actually been sworn into the office yet, and Cantabile's resignation is still technically pending. If she'd refused to come, she could have gotten away with it. Sadly, that would have left all of us in the unenviable position of having to deal with a pregnant Cantabile instead. Frankly, I'll take irritable little sister over pregnant fiancé if I have to sit in a room with a large number of political figures for hours on end."

I scowled. "I'd hate you, but then, _I_ wouldn't want to be in a room with Cantabile and a bunch of these idiots, either..." I stopped, blinked, and then adopted a rather thoughtful expression. "Although..."

"No."

"But it would—"

" _No._ "

"She'd probably just be amused by the whole thing. Or utterly pissed. Hard to tell with the hormones."

"Hence my adamant refusal."

"I'm just saying—"

"You shouldn't. Honestly. Do you _try_ to give me nightmares?"

"Someone has to. Your fiancé inflicts plenty on the rest of us."

"I do actually like having the ability to _moderate_ my nightmare fuel intake, thank you very much."

"I'm sorry, that's possible?"

"Smart-ass."

"Lovely to meet you again, pot."

"Shut up and eat your dinner."

"Is that an order?"

"Yes."

"But I'm the Commandant."

"No, you're still a God-General."

I opened my mouth to say that I still out-ranked him, paused, and conceded that one. I was still technically a major, even as a God-General, so he did actually out-rank me there.

"Are you two _sure_ you're not actually related?"

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that Luke had walked in while Jade and I were doing our back-and-forth banter, which had gotten most of the group laughing, at least.

"I'm quite certain that I am still from a completely different planet, so yes," I replied. "Which reminds me, I really ought to try to contact Danté again. Though maybe I should make Dark do that. I can't seem to ever actually find Danté. Always seem to find Lloyd instead. Not that that's a bad thing—Lloyd is adorable and helps me relax without even realizing he's doing anything, which just makes him even more adorable. But I do need to talk to Danté. Still."

Luke sat in the last open seat, which happened to be right next to me, and pulled over the plate of food that had been left there but not touched until then.

"So... where's Asch?"

Luke blinked, swallowed the bite of food he'd stuck in his mouth, and looked around. "Huh. That's weird. I'd have thought he'd be back by now. He left literally the minute Teodoro ended the meeting for the day."

I sighed. "So Dark wasn't the only one to literally teleport out of that room."

Luke snorted. "Dark. Asch. Selenia popped in and right back out again with Sync. And you vanished pretty quickly, too."

"Ah, but I simply fled the insanity. If I'd teleported, _everyone_ would have known about it," I replied a bit more dramatically than strictly necessary.

Luke chuckled. "Yeah, Lorelei is _not_ afraid to speak his mind about the miasma, is he?"

More chuckles spread through the room, and I shrugged. "As I told Dark earlier. If I'd teleported out, everyone would have known, because Lorelei would have started bitching. As Lorelei did _not_ start bitching, we can conclude that I did _not_ teleport. I just fled. Rapidly."

"Ah the joys of having long legs and a seat near the door," Dark mused.

Natalia looked exasperated. "It wasn't that bad."

Everyone in the room gave her an incredulous look, and she smiled in a manner that was _far_ too innocent. "They were all too busy posturing and orating to notice the fact that Eraia and I were playing with Energy orbs."

I blinked a few times, then glanced at a triumphant-looking Dark. Then back at Natalia.

Then I sighed. "Natalia, darling... I'm sorry to have to inform you. You have been corrupted."

More laughter rang through the room.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Haha. Kairi and Lorelei. Or, more correctly,_ Kade _and Lorelei._

 _They will still be griping at each other in the Future Arcs, never fear. Kade gives Lorelei a headache when he teleports, and in case ya'll don't remember, Kairi gets headaches from Lorelei teleporting. Or, you know. Seventh fonons in general._

 _Still. Kairi's mastered the art of vanishing without use of miasma._


	96. Chapter 13-3 Part 96

_This chapter is for the completion of the top panel of Love Without End, Amen! ...Which is the really sad panel. -sniffs-_

* * *

" _Haha, you really don't like politics, do you?" –Guy_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.3 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 96**

Back in the meeting room, back to listening to the annoying generals and nobles all arguing...

I glanced over at Florian, then looked to Emperor Peony, then Asch—who, much to my irritation, hadn't shown up until right before the meeting—and then Tear and Solace.

All of them were giving me wary looks, but they seemed to get the point.

This was getting ridiculous and we were just walking in circles, figuratively. Nothing was going to get done so long as this was still out on the table.

I was at least polite enough to wait until the current general—one of the Kimlascan generals I was unfamiliar with—had finished before I shot Teodoro a warning look.

I stood up and very nearly slammed my hands on the table. A bit dramatic, but it got their attention.

I glared at the worst of the offenders—General Nordheim from Malkuth—and then leveled it on everyone who'd tried to claim that they should be given control over Eldrant. "Gentlemen." Because all of the people who'd been arguing had been male. I could get away with that. "I don't think you realize exactly _what_ is creating that particular phenomenon," I started, still managing to sound civil.

Asch's smirk was only _barely_ hidden by his calm mask of indifference.

"We made rather a discovery when we found a Midlight crystal at the Radiation Gate made almost entirely of moon Energies. That crystal, in conjunction with an Energy Circle I drew with the intention of getting rid of the miasma tainting the springs at Eldrant, is what caused the fairy water," I explained, speaking far more slowly than I normally would.

My calm expression shifted into something akin to disgust. "If I have to go get that crystal and _destroy_ it to keep that out of greedy hands that don't understand just _what_ they're working with, so be it! Personally, I'd really rather not do it, if for no other reason than because I'd effectively be _slaughtering_ nearly a dozen newborn water spirits. But I trust the Ferines, as the people of water, to understand the measures that need to be taken here, and if you're not willing to accept that trust, then I will have no other choice."

My glare as I sat back down basically said it all: Shut up and let the Ferines have Eldrant, or I _will_ destroy the crystal.

Or, well, move it. Maybe to the Ferines village in Tataroo Valley.

"And what gives you any right to do such a thing?!"

"Did you miss the part where I found and _made_ the Energy Circle?" I muttered irritably.

Jade sighed and stood up, drawing all eyes and thankfully making the angry murmurs stop for a few moments. "Gentlemen, I'm getting the distinct impression that absolutely _no one_ in this room who hasn't been traveling with or otherwise in fairly constant contact with Commandant Balfour actually bothered to read the information packets I sent out, so let me make one thing perfectly clear. With the possible exception of His Majesty, King Asch, there is not a single person on the _planet_ with enough of an understanding of Energies or Energy Circles to replicate the setup at Eldrant."

Asch shook his head when eyes started turning to him. "I'm nowhere near that level," he said. "That's something that only the Commandant can do, and even then, what are the chances of us finding another moon Energy Midlight crystal large enough for something like that?"

I sat back in my seat and looked amused. "Well, considering that I was amazed we found the one we did..." I glanced around the table. "Moon Energy Midlight crystals are supposed to be the rarest type of all, and sun Energy Midlight crystals shouldn't exist, but we've found a sun Energy crystal and that moon Energy Midlight crystal is the largest Midlight crystal I've ever even _heard_ of." I sat up mostly straight again and crossed my arms. "Chances of finding another moon Energy Midlight crystal on Auldrant? Fairly high. Chances of finding another one of that size?"

I looked up at the ceiling, then turned to look at Asch. "I think we've have better luck finding a way to intentionally travel between planets."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Well, gentlemen, I think _that_ settles that. Unless someone is just that desperate to be rid of the fairy springs on Eldrant altogether?"

He sat back down, crossed his arms, and gave General Nordheim a rather pointed look. 'You may outrank me,' that look said. 'But you are pushing the ends of your luck.'

The generals and nobles who'd all been fighting over Eldrant and the fairy springs finally seemed to give up, and I glanced at Tear again, noting Guy right next to her.

Me. Tear. Guy. Jade. Dark over there behind Natalia. Sync was here, standing off to the side behind me as another member of the Order of Lorelei, and Reighn sat to my right. That just left...

"Where's Path?" I muttered quietly as Teodoro took over the meeting again.

"There," Reighn replied, nodding off to the shadows behind Solace and Fallon.

Ah. Hiding behind the other two involved with the replicas.

"I believe that the next item on our agenda has to do with the Clans," Teodoro said.

"This again...?" Sesemann muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

I glanced at Reighn, who shot me a sour look, and I ended up rolling my eyes and standing a second time that morning.

I got more than a few sour looks, but did my best to ignore them.

They didn't matter.

"Since apparently no one bothered with Colonel Curtiss' information packets, as much as I'd love to just jump into this, I'm not going to," I started. "Three thousand years ago, six Clans sealed away the six sentiences."

"We know. Then the seals broke and they started wreaking havoc," a nobleman from Kimlasca grumbled.

I crossed my arms, glared at him for a moment, and then shifted my weight. "There was a seventh Clan involved, that intended to release the sentiences again after a time in the hopes that they'd have calmed down. One thousand years after the sealings, however, the Planet Storm was created to counter the effects of the much-lowered fonon levels. That led to the liquefaction of the world's surface and the mass production of the miasma. If you don't know what's happened recently with the Planet Storm and release of the sentiences, please get caught up _later_ ," I continued.

"What's this got to do with right now?" Count Almandine asked, looking genuinely curious. "The notes mentioned something about there being eight Clans now as opposed to the original seven."

I didn't smile, but I wanted to.

At least _someone_ did their reading.

"Yes. There are now a total of eight Clans binding the sentiences... well, technically seven," I amended. "Balfour and Fabre won't be properly separating until my heirs take over. That's beside the point." I glanced around the table, knowing full well that _this_ was probably not going to go over very well. "The Clans, despite each one typically aligning to a country, have always operated outside of their country's jurisdiction when necessary, especially in regards to the sentiences and any seals involving them. That _will not change_."

Cue explosion of noise that I sat back down for to wait out.

"Enough!" Teodoro snapped.

"But—"

"If I might interject?" Tear asked, gentle but firm. A good number of the nobles scowled at her as she stood up. "I'm aware that I've gone by the name Tear Grants for a long time now. But my birth name is Mystearica Aura Fende. I am the Clan Head of Fende, and the Merines, leader of the Ferines." A good number of people blinked at her, and she glanced at me. We'd intended for _me_ to explain which Clans held which seals to which sentiences and who'd be aligning with which countries, but...

*Sentiences. I'll deal with loyalties,* I told her telepathically.

Tear continued with an almost imperceptible pause. "I, and my Clan, guard the seal that binds Lorelei."

"And Count Gardios?" one of the Malkuth noblemen sneered. "I know Gardios was one of the original Clans..."

Tear and Guy both nodded. "Gailardia's Clan guards the seal on Sylph once more."

I glanced at Jade when Tear looked like she had decided she was probably _not_ a good choice for explaining the others, and stood. "Balfour currently guards both Ifrit's seal and Kade's. For those of you who are unaware, apparently the miasma has a congregate sentience as well. Ifrit's seal will remain with Balfour as it has in the past, Kade's will be passed to a Fabre." I paused to glance at Path. "Apathy Miles holds the seal on Shadow, as Fende gave it up to hold Lorelei. However, Dark Daemione and Reighn Aurelius hold Rem and Undine, respectfully, as their Clans have done for the past three thousand years."

"And Gnome?" Count Almandine asked.

Good question.

"Sync Osborne guards his seal."

A few surprised glances toward the green-haired teen in question, and then Emperor Peony stood to draw attention as he spoke. "Am I correct in assuming that the old alliances are no longer the same?" he asked.

I resisted the urge to cross my arms. "They've been skewed a bit, yes." I glanced back at Sync. He was the only one as yet undecided, but... well. "Gardios is firmly aligned with the Ferines, and though Mystearica is their Merines, her Clan's loyalties lie primarily with the Order of Lorelei. Fabre will remain loyal to Kimlasca, as will Daemione."

"Darigan," Nordheim cut in.

"Daemione," Dark corrected. "That name means more to me than Darigan ever has, and is fitting, as Darigan and the remains of Eruzaeyon have merged."

I nodded, then shot Sync one last glance before continuing. From the expression he wore, he knew _exactly_ what I was about to do. "Balfour and Osborne will keep their loyalties with Malkuth, and Miles is aligned with the replicas of Fandral. Aurelius, like Fende, will remain with the Order of Lorelei." Not in any particular order, but at least now everyone knew whose loyalties would lay where when it came down to the Clans as separate wholes.

There were a lot of unhappy looking people, but most of them seemed to realize that there would be no arguing with this, and I sat down again.

There was a bit of a pause as everyone digested that, before Astor's attendant handed something to Teodoro.

He blinked a few times, double-checked our list of things to get through, and then hummed. "If there aren't any objections, Astor, of the Chesedonia Merchants' Guild, would like to say a few words."

As a small neutral party that wasn't vying for a place as a _country_ , Astor did kinda have to fight around everything else, so since we were letting Tear and Solace speak—not that Solace was being all that vocal today, as most of the arguments had been around Eldrant and the Clans so far—there didn't seem to be any problems with this.

He stood once allowed and glanced at me and Florian, and I got the sinking feeling he was about to make things even worse than they already were. The road to hell was paved with good intentions, after all.

"In light of recent events, and after a thorough perusal of Chesedonia's autonomy agreement, the Merchants' Guild has come to a decision to nullify our autonomy," he started.

I took a deep breath as the shocked noises started flying around. Yup. We're all screwed.

"Due to our status as a neutral border city and so-to-speak buffer between Malkuth and Kimlasca—" Something we needed, please don't screw this up too badly, Astor... "—and the nullification clause that allows us to choose which country Chesedonia will be annexed into, the proprietors of the board have chosen to submit the request to join to Daath."

Now, _that_ didn't really surprise me. Daath was a definite neutral territory, and we were doing our damndest to keep it that way while helping to get the replicas and the Ferines started up.

If Chesedonia did feel like a cessation of autonomy, Daath was probably their best choice for keeping a nice, neutral spit of land between Malkuth and Kimlasca.

The others in the room seemed to realize this as well, and I nodded and glanced at Florian. Poor kid looked utterly lost underneath the calm façade Solace had taught him, and I smiled a bit and took pity on him. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention," I said levelly, speaking for everyone in the room, and not just the Order of Lorelei that ruled Daath.

Looked like Daath was going to be a proper _country_ now, instead of just a city to serve as the headquarters for the Order of Lorelei.

Though, really, Yulia City belonged to the Order, too, so I probably shouldn't have been too terribly surprised by this turn of events.

"Then if that is all, perhaps a short recess would do us all some good? We will resume in twenty minutes," Teodoro suggested.

I grimaced, even as I slipped out of my seat and was simply _gone_ as I had managed the previous night.

I wanted out of that room. I hated that room. Anyone foolish enough to try to keep me in that room was going to get it.

"Haha, you really don't like politics, do you?" Guy asked, managing to keep up with me. I shot him a scowl, found an alcove that was out of the way, and slumped into it.

"That move from Chesedonia was unexpected," I murmured.

"Really? I thought it was actually pretty obvious. They've been hit pretty hard by everything, too, and the Merchants' Guild that's currently running things may be doing a fairly good job, but they're still having trouble keeping up with all of the problems that are occurring _outside_ the Guild," Guy said. "Still, I'm glad you didn't react the way Florian did. Reighn didn't seem to know what to say, either."

"I was actually more surprised that my uncle actually decided to announce it _now_."

Guy and I both shifted as Reighn walked over to join us.

"Wait, uncle?" Guy asked.

Reighn nodded. "My mother's first cousin, technically, but yes. We are related. Anyway, I figured he'd wait until after it was finalized with the Order. I know he, Tritheim, and I had been working on it, but I didn't think he'd choose _now_ to announce it."

"It got us off the subject of the Clans and the Ferines. That would have inevitably led back to Eldrant," I mused. "So really, we ought to thank him. I was really getting sick of the idiots all trying to get the fairy springs."

"Would you have actually destroyed the crystal?" Guy asked.

I smirked. "Nope. Not a chance."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _In the last version, we found out that Reighn and Astor were related when Reighn went to him to get a replacement focal crystal._

 _This time, since Reighn is travelling with Sync and the Dark Wings and didn't need a replacement... we didn't really see any interaction there. Also, Reighn's POV that early would have ruined the surprise of 'hey, look, Sync's alive.'_


	97. Chapter 13-4 Part 97

_For the full completion of Love Without End, Amen! (Which won't be posted until July 22nd, sorry!)  
_

 _(Anyone figured out the REAL reason yet?)_

* * *

 _Speaking of that salmon-colored monstrosity, where had it vanished to? –Kairi_

" _What? I like having all my bases covered." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.4 – Rebuilding the Auldrant  
Part 97**

I had to give credit to whomever had built Yulia City. Or, really, it's underbelly. It was a maze of computer terminals, generators, and other machinery, and in between meetings, I kept coming down here to explore and learn a bit more about it. After all, this was the level of tech we'd probably need to replicate to do anything really useful with the Tower of Rem That Had Yet To Be Renamed.

Yes, I'd resorted to using Kingdom Hearts-esque names for the tower until such time as the replicas got around to giving it a new name.

I stopped at a terminal and booted it up. This was a new one...

A little bit of poking revealed it to be one of the monitors for the generators, and I looked over that information. If only we had some way to redirect that power to where we needed it...

I stopped and considered what I'd done at the Tower of Rem's Hissy Fit That Needed Cleaned Up Still. Putting another passage ring here would be a bad idea—for one thing, it could completely screw up Yulia City's anchoring, and as far as I was aware, there wasn't a sephiroth in the area, anyway.

So I headed off to the next terminal on the path and idly considered my options. Trying to completely recreate this technology was difficult, and I knew from the construction and design that Yulia City had been built while the Planet Storm's success was still a bit iffy. Once it had stabilized, the need for low-cost generators had fallen significantly.

But that still left a lot of generators down here, and a lot of generated power. So.

The next terminal was another monitor for the generators, so I moved on again, only to find an off-shoot path that was _not_ lined with weight-activated lights.

I slipped half onto the second plane and started that way, moving slowly and walking along the path. It wound through and around the generators, before finally seeming to dead-end at one, which it circled.

I walked around the circle, then crossed my arms when I came back to the path that would take me away from here again.

That was odd... All of the generators around it seemed to be working, but this one wasn't.

In fact, I couldn't see anywhere near the Energy or fonon movement around this one.

I walked around the big cylinder again, and it wasn't until the third pass that my eyes finally caught on something.

It might have looked like just some scratches to anyone else, but I knew what that was...

I crouched just enough to put the markings at eye level, and was somehow unsurprised to find that it was an Energy circle. After seeing the extensive use back in the Clans era, I figured at least a few people had managed to preserve the knowledge of Energy circles and how to use them to at least the Dawn Age.

I reached out and put my hand over the circle, shoving a few moon Energies at it.

It glowed, and then the whole section of the cylinder slid aside, revealing that it was hollow... and contained another terminal.

Huh. Now wasn't that interesting.

I stepped in, mostly unconcerned when the door slid closed again behind me, and started booting up the terminal. Time to figure out what _this_ controlled.

Unfortunately for my sanity, it seemed this one was fond of being unhelpful. It was all in Ancient Ispanian, and I didn't have the ability to simply build a new passage ring here and use the translation file.

But...

I crossed my arms and considered my problem, even as I opened the door and stepped out again, heading back along the paths and toward the nearest maintenance warp, which should have been the southern warp.

Maybe I could copy the translation program and bring it into the system that way? I'd have to find some way to carry the data, though, and trying to make sense of machines I only barely knew better than the natives of this world was annoying at best.

There had to be some means of a data-transfer, though, so I mused over this as I headed back up to the conference room.

An idea poked me in the head, and I got the feeling it wasn't even from Kade. It was just my own ideas being dumb and annoying, but a little examination told me enough.

The idea was an idea, and it was even, perhaps, a good idea.

So I mused over it. I found a datapad—there'd apparently been a lot of these stored around in both the lab at the Tower That Needed Renamed as well as here in the underbelly of Yulia City—and pulled up a drawing program.

The next part of the meeting was rather simply a discussion over the refugees, the rebuilding, and the resources that were being sent around to the different cities. What was needed, what was being used, and what would be considered an excess. Since I wasn't really involved in any of that, I wasn't really needed to pay attention.

Hence why I was dragging the datapad and its vague plans along. At least I'd be able to do something useful while everyone else was doing their useful bits and I was stuck just sitting there.

There'd probably be a few others who wouldn't be able to participate in the discussions as well, but I knew that I was going to be the most dangerous one if left to sit in the utter boredom.

I took my seat once I finally got back to the conference room and looked around. Looked like I'd timed it nicely—there were still about five minutes left before we'd be re-convening, and that meant that most of the others were still avoiding this room.

"You're early."

I glanced up at Asch and offered up a forced smile before I went back to my plotting. "Yes, a bit."

Hm... I'd need to go double-check one of the passage rings after this. The Radiation Gate, probably. That was one of the few I could draw up an almost-perfect image of in my mind, and if I could do that, Kade and I could get there via miasma-teleportation.

I'd normally bug someone else for it, but Shadow and Gnome were chatting quite a bit around these meetings, and I hated to have to drag Shadow away for this.

Ifrit and Sylph didn't know the Radiation Gate well enough to get me where I needed. _I_ knew it better than they did.

So Kade and I would just have to try, and hope that I knew it well enough to actually get us there.

"So. What are you working on?"

"Um... Idea for the passage rings," I replied.

"Oh boy. Don't you have enough of those already?"

"Nope," I damn near _chirped_ back. Ooh, and if I could get _those_ to cooperate, then I could definitely make it a full net that wrapped around the whole world. Oh, but I'd need something to act as catalysts... The fonstones floating in the upper atmosphere? No, it needed to be something I could program... Huh. Looked like I'd need to look into Eldrant's anti-grav tech again.

Which meant I'd need Saphir's help, since that was the same tech he used in his chair.

Speaking of that salmon-colored monstrosity, where had it vanished to?

I shook my head and forced myself to focus on my datapad again, ignoring Teodoro when he restarted the meeting after the rest of the representatives walked in. I needed something that would help to not only stabilize my net, but spread it, make sure it was covering the world as evenly as possible...

I'd drawn up basic designs for four different ideas when Reighn nudged me with his elbow, causing me to draw a streak through one of my designs.

Thankfully, a quick 'undo' managed to get rid of the thick black line, and it took me maybe three seconds to finish putting the line I'd been _trying_ to add in.

Then I half-scowled at Reighn, who simply nodded toward Teodoro, who was standing to speak again.

"Now that the arrangements for the rebuilding have been finalized for Grand Chokmah, St. Binah, and Baticul, Emperor Peony has suggested that we look to re-assigning the borders to account for the addition of the Ferines and the replicas."

Ah. That was why. Damn, did I really manage to work through all of that?

From the stiffness in my joints, I'd say the answer is 'yes'.

"Excuse me, but I think a recess might be a good idea," Fallon piped up. "It's been almost four hours."

A glance at the time displayed in the corner of the datapad leant credence to _that_ statement as well.

Teodoro glanced at a clock and nodded. "An excellent idea. We will re-convene in twenty minutes, then."

For once, I didn't pull my disappearing act. There was no way my joints would appreciate it.

Instead, I waited until most of the group had left before I stood and stretched, relishing in the snap-crackle-pop of my bones re-learning to move. "Okay. Somebody want to find me a map?" I asked. "Because I've got this vague idea in my head and I think I can probably sell it... with a little help."

"Oh?" Jade asked. All of the people still in the room were friends, which was why I'd phrased it as such.

"Yup."

Dark pulled out a map and spread it on the table, and I started sketching, thankful that I'd spent long enough simply enlarging drawings for a class in high school that copying the rough outlines of the continents was simple.

Then I got to work, assigning colors to each group—blue for Malkuth and red for Kimlasca, purple for Daath, green for the Ferines, and yellow for the replicas—and basically coloring in the land, once I'd figured out where all of the cities and passage rings were.

Once I was done, I sat the datapad on the table for the others to look at.

Reighn was the first one to get to it, and he hummed. "Interesting choices," he mused. "Good ones, but interesting. Might have a few people argue, but..." He handed it off to Jade, who had _almost_ gotten to it first, had he not been clear across the table.

Jade glanced over it blinked a few times and tilted his head to the side slightly, considering it. Then he nodded. "Well thought-out. Should keep most of them from complaining too much," he agreed. "Though I'm questioning the logic of giving the replicas the land south of the Kaitzur checkpoint."

"Kimlasca and Malkuth have been the main two warring countries for the last few centuries. If the records are correct, there was a war between Kimlasca and Daath about four hundred years ago, but since then? Every conflict's been between those two. And while that land might officially be neutral territory, Kimlasca's had its hands on it for decades. Best to just cut as many shared borders between the two largest countries as we can."

I got a lot of amused looks for my explanation, even as Asch took a look over it.

"You know what else I'm noticing?" Asch said after a minute.

"What?" Jade asked.

"Passage rings. Kairi's added one at the Tower of Rem already, and she's got notes here to add one in the Theor Forest, as well," Asch pointed out. "With that land in replica hands, that puts the Tower of Rem and the Mt. Roneal passage rings with them..."

"Mt. Zaleho and the Zao Ruins with Daath," I picked up. "Theor Forest and Shurrey Hill in Malkuth, Eldrant and Tataroo Valley for the Ferines..."

"And the Meggiora Highlands and another added one in the Inista Marsh for Kimlasca," Asch finished.

Jade smiled a bit. "Political balance."

"Mostly. The Order will be the only country with access to the Gates," I admitted. "Then again, no one else really has _reason_ to be at the Gates."

"So why's there a green patch on the northwestern peninsula of Radessia?" Asch asked.

"Nam Cobanda," I replied. "It'd be cruel to uproot those people _again_ , and the majority of them were Hod survivors to begin with. Only makes sense to keep the Hod survivors with Hod, so to speak."

Asch didn't respond immediately, but when he did, it was with a sigh. "We should _probably_ ask Noir about that."

I pulled out my wing pack, flipped to the section I'd reserved for all of my letters, and pulled the most recent one from Noir. Then I tossed it across the table to Asch.

He blinked at the envelope, but pulled it over and pulled the letter out, reading over it, then giving me an unamused look. I shrugged. "What? I like having all my bases covered."

Sync snickered behind him. "Kinda like the thing with Largo."

"Exactly like the thing with Largo."

Asch rolled his eyes, put the letter back in its envelope, and flicked it back at me.

"So, I think all of _us_ agree with Kairi's map," Guy said. "Well, I agree. Tear kinda ran off."

"Looking for Del, I think," I said. "Not that that means anything. Del could be just about anywhere."

"True." Solace stood and walked down to Asch, looking over his shoulder to get a look at the map, himself. "I think you managed to find the best diplomatic solution for this," he mused.

I hummed. "Can I have that back now?"

Asch shot me a sour look. "Are you going to be tapping away on it the entire time when everyone comes back, too?"

"No. I'm obviously going to have to pass the datapad around and explain it," I replied. "Also, in my defense, I have absolutely nothing to do with the rebuilding, save for where the Order of Lorelei's command chain is concerned. This? This is something that does actually involve me. If Chesedonia is technically a part of Daath, now, that means I need to be prepared to schedule deployments in the area."

Jade smirked. "Asch. Give your fiancé credit where credit is due. If she's involved, she'll pay attention. If not... She has other things that are more worth her time."

"Like the passage rings," I supplied. I looked up again. "And Guy. I'm going to need your help for some of this. Saphir's, too."

"Oh dear," Jade started. "Why am I getting the sinking feeling that Kairi is about to do something to redefine 'technology' again?"

I blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you're the one who put a passage ring at the Tower of Rem, and who is planning to put two more new passage rings in. I'm not sure I _want_ to know what you plan to do with all... twelve of them." Jade frowned. "Do you need _twelve_?"

I grinned. "Yes. Yes, I do."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Ah, the passage rings. Kairi is far too interested in those things. Really._

 _Yes, there will be a total of twelve by the time she's done. XD_

 _Also, Saphir's chair was taken by the darkness. What happened to it, only the darkness knows..._

 _(Kudos to anyone who knows where THAT line got stolen from.)_


	98. Chapter 13-5 Part 98

_This chapter in celebration of hitting the 25/100 hour mark. Yee-haw! A fourth of the way there already!_

 _(Yeah, I am actually a bit behind. :/)_

* * *

" _On the other hand... Well. Sapience." –Kairi_

" _What's a fanfiction?" –Solace_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.5 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 98**

I couldn't help but smirk as I caught sight of the map on my datapad as Solace glanced over it. It hadn't changed much.

Honestly, the largest change was only spotted in the corner, where a spot that had once been blank was now acting as the key.

The Ferines had decided to simply keep 'Hod' as the name for their small country they'd been given, and that made a sort of sense, as the majority of it was made up of the Hod Archipelago. Eldrant, the hidden Ferines village in Tataroo Valley, and the Isle of Feres were theirs...

While they were also, officially, at least, given the northwestern peninsula of Radessia, the area that held Nam Cobanda, it was agreed that the Dark Wings and their hidden folk would be allowed to keep the majority of their autonomy.

The replicas had surprised the group by supplying a name for their country, as well, though they hadn't yet given us a new name for the Tower That Needed Named After Someone Other Than Rem.

Norn.

In hindsight, it probably shouldn't have surprised me, as Solace was very good at coming up with names when he felt like it.

In fact, that was a part of the reason why he was sitting next to me on the Albiore III.

Yes. In the co-pilot's seat. Because Ginji, the lazy-ass, was far more interested in playing around in the underbelly of Yulia City.

I wasn't sure exactly what Solace was planning to do about the land they'd been given south of the Kaitzur Checkpoint, especially since it was, essentially, a checkpoint, and he'd have to do something about the soon-to-be former Kimlascan side.

Basically, I was trying to figure out where he was going to pull soldiers from. Because he'd need them. And while most of the replicas were programmed to fight, they were _not_ soldiers.

"Kairi?"

Uh-oh. Here we go.

"Yes?"

"What do you have to do to get into the Oracle Knights? Not me, specifically..."

And, that answered my questions about soldiers, I think.

"One, I'm not entirely sure if the Order's policies are going to survive this... this," I said, for lack of a more creative term. "If they do, it's pretty simple. Fill out the paperwork, go through the initial screening—even I had to do that, and I had you and Reighn practically clearing me for _everything_ —and then get assigned to a division and report in for basic training," I replied. "Mind you, with the way things are going, it's possible that the Order might start limiting the number of soldiers joining from other countries. _Might_. Also might not."

Solace hummed. "So if it does change, we'd have to talk to someone else..."

"I'm guessing someone's wanting to figure out how a military's _supposed_ to work before you guys even consider starting to build one of your own?" I asked.

Solace nodded. "Del, mostly. Fallon seems to be focusing on resources, mostly food and shelters. Path's been doing a lot of talking with the other leaders, though Florian seems to hate him."

"Good thing I don't," I mused. "And that leaves Del to handle the military side of things while you spearhead everything and make sure no one leaves too many messes behind them."

Solace glanced up at me in surprise, and I shrugged. "What? It's a fairly similar setup to what the Order's got going, and aside from having to completely redo a lot of the officer positions in the military side of things recently, it's worked... mostly."

"True. I think having it split among a larger group helps," Solace replied. "I mean, I'm still kinda acting as I did when I was the Fon Master, but..."

"You've got the military, the political, and the civilian, as opposed to military and non-military on the other side," I replied. I frowned. "Honestly, I think we do need to go in and clean up the mess in the Order. The command chain's getting all mangled, and no offense to you or Florian, but I really don't think a fourteen-year-old-in-body is really the best choice to lead an entire country. Since, you know, Daath kinda stopped being just a city by itself when Yulia City rejoined the rest of the Outer Lands." Or, well, we rejoined them, but that was beside the point.

"So what are we going to do?" Solace asked. "Well, what are _you_ going to do, I guess. Since I'm now technically with Norn, I can't really do much with the Order."

I sighed. "We have to get the Fon Master mess cleaned up. The paperwork still says the Fon Master is Ion. Ion is dead, and of the three surviving Ion replicas, none of them go by 'Ion' anymore."

Solace chuckled. "Well, at least the whole Ion Replica mess is making Florian taking over while I'm helping the replicas a little less politically problematic."

"Having the majority of the world leaders as good friends helps too," I mused. "It helps _immensely_. I don't think I'd want to know how that week would have gone if Emperor Peony weren't practically my uncle, and Asch my fiancé."

"I don't, either," Solace admitted. Then he sighed, a heavy sound filled with sorrow and relief. "I'm glad most of the fighting is over, and that Del's willing to handle the majority of the military stuff. I..." Solace stopped and hugged the datapad he'd been looking at to his chest. "I'm really not cut out for this, I don't think."

"The ability to fight is not nearly as important as the ability to discern when fighting is necessary or not," I replied. "I love a good spar, but if I could go without killing another sapient being for the rest of my life, I'd be happy."

Solace frowned, then looked up at me. "Sapient?"

I groaned. "Blame Teá."

"Who's Teá?"

"My friend, who was writing a story. An argument about the difference between sentience and sapience came up, and then she looked it up and called Doppel to basically argue through it in real life so it would be easier to _write_ it. She does that a lot, actually," I mused. "I mean, I don't blame her, when it comes to trying to figure out how characters would respond in the middle of an argument like that, talking it out with someone who knows the character and can get into their head helps. On the other hand... Well. Sapience."

Solace snickered. Actually _snickered_. "Sounds like fun."

"Oh, she is. Especially when she starts rambling in Spanish and I can't understand a word of it. Well. No. I can understand bits and pieces, but she gets going _really_ fast in Spanish and I just can't keep up with her," I replied. Then I frowned. "There's the tower."

Solace hummed. "Asch says you keep complaining about its name."

"Rem does not deserve to have a tower named after her. Especially not when we're about to turn it into a passage ring with a fragging _city_ on top of it," I replied.

"Earth has a lot of languages, doesn't it?" Solace asked. I glanced over at him, blinked, and nodded.

"You have something in mind?"

"The Ancient Ispanian word for 'the light in the darkness' is... well. Mystearica."

Huh. Interesting little tidbit there.

I thought about it for a moment, digging through what odd bits and ends Doppel had picked up from other languages as she sought names for things, places, and characters in various stories, before something came to mind.

"Lux in tenebris," I murmured.

"Huh?"

I took a deep breath. "Lux in tenebris. It's Latin. Same meaning, different language."

Solace was quiet for a bit. "Might need to butcher it a little bit, but I think that would work beautifully," he said, voice soft.

I smiled. "Butcher away. Gods know I do it plenty. Or, well, Doppel does it plenty. She's gotten quite fond of writing Transformers fanfictions."

"What's a fanfiction?"

I busted up laughing.

What's a fanfiction?

I'm _in_ one, no thanks to Doppel documenting and posting my adventures!

On a totally different note...

"Thank you for the laugh," I managed after a bit. "I needed it."

Solace still looked totally baffled, and I grinned at him. "I'll explain it later. Maybe after my next visit with Doppel," I added. Then I snorted. "What's a fanfiction... Oh gods..."

"Was that a bad question?"

I shook my head. "No, just..." I stopped and snorted. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out when I explain it. It's just funny."

"...Okay."

I heard footsteps and glanced back just in time to see Jade walking up to us. "So. Any idea on how much help you'll need to get the passage ring fully functioning?" he asked. "Because apparently Cantabile's trying to get the wedding moved up."

I blinked a few times, then frowned. "It's slated for two months from now, isn't it? That'll still leave her about a month out from her due date."

"She said something about the dress that I didn't quite catch. I think Nephry has her under strict orders not to say too much."

"Bad luck for the groom to see the bride's dress before the wedding," I teased. "That said... If all goes well, Guy, Saphir, Tamara, Henken and I should be able to get the passage ring at full operational capability in just a couple weeks. Full functionality will be a bit longer, because we'll have to get _all_ of them back up to the point where they're operating at optimal capacity before we can start implementing even half of my ideas. Also, I have to draw up agreements and shit so I have _permission_ to be doing anything more than bringing it up to operational status."

There was a decided pause, before Solace held out my datapad again. A glance out toward the Tower in the distance, and I put the Albiore on a basic autopilot that was less autopilot and more cruise control.

A glance over the document he was showing me told me more than enough, and I smiled. "Yes, something like this. It'll need to be updated as we figure out more of what we'll be doing with the passage rings, not to mention the slight differences to account for the different countries, but essentially, yes. Thank you."

Solace smiled. "You're welcome. This is something I'm actually fairly good at. If I could just sit down and write up things like these all day, I'd be fairly happy with my job."

I laughed a bit and took the so-to-speak cruise control back off so I could land the Albiore. "It's really quite helpful. I'm glad _someone_ has those skills, because while I'm good at writing, all of the legal jargon tends to fly well around my head. I mean, I can _read_ it, I just can't write it," I replied. I glanced up at Jade, noting that he had a good grip on the backs of both my seat and Solace's. "At any rate, that's going to have be edited and then distributed. Depending on how the final version comes out, the number of signatures is going to have to be worked out."

"And then it's just going to be a matter of adding things as you come up with them, basically," Solace said. I nodded, pulling the Albiore around in a circle as I brought us down. We'd come up on the tower pretty quickly, so I didn't really want to have to try to simply _stop_ it in midair. Slowing down and using a lap around the tower as an excuse worked beautifully, especially since it gave me a fairly good look at the external infrastructure while I was at it.

"You know, I think I might have finally found the key to cracking the Yulia City power generators," I said just as I was setting us down.

"What?!"

I glanced back at my brother and smiled. "Yeah. I _think_. Not sure. Need to see if I can't copy the translation program. Sadly, I can't just add a passage ring at Yulia City. Nearest sephiroth large enough for a passage ring is the one at Eldrant," I said. "Need to find some kind of a data storage device, copy the program, and run it on that hidden terminal at Yulia City. Because, almost two years after first landing in a snowbank in Keterburg, I _still_ don't speak Ancient Ispanian. Or read it."

Jade chuckled. "I honestly wouldn't expect you to. But still... Wait, _hidden_ terminal?"

I nodded. "There's a terminal hidden away in what looks like one of the generators at first. Thing is, when the walkway dead-ends into it and there's an Energy Circle lock on it, it's quite obvious that there's something there, and... I found it. Sadly, I can't really use it until I've gotten it translated."

"So that was why you seemed so interested in getting back to the Tower of Rem."

"Luxen Tenebris."

There was a decided pause as we both looked at Solace, and I smiled. I'd _heard_ that differentiation in the pronunciation, but it still sounded mostly the same, and the intended meaning _was_ the same.

"Perfect. So now we can all stop calling it the Tower of Rem, because Rem is a bitch and doesn't deserve it," I said cheerfully before standing up, having shut down the engines while Solace was correcting Jade. I looked around as I walked down the small walkway between the seats, Jade thankfully having the presence of mind to get well out of my way as I near raced off the Albiore.

I just needed the translation program. Then I'd be able to go back to Yulia City and...

And leave everyone here wondering what the hell they were supposed to do with the passage ring.

I snickered at the mental images of Guy and Saphir getting tangled up in wires trying to figure it out, before forcing the imagery to the side and moving on.

The ramp was already lowered, and as I walked up to the tower, I spotted Guy at the entrance. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the doorframe.

"So, Fallon brought this up a couple days ago and I just now remembered it. When are you planning to clean up the top of the Tower? Because it sounds to me like she's got some plans for it," Guy asked.

I blinked a few times, looked up toward the top that I honestly couldn't see from here, and then crossed my arms. "Well, I suppose I could do that while I'm here..."

I stopped and glanced back at Jade. "Better idea, I'll make Jade do it."

Jade froze, looking rather like a deer in the headlights. "Excuse me?"

"I need to help Guy and Saphir with the passage ring, and you've gotten pretty good with Energies. There's no reason not to assign you to that task while I work on the passage rings. You're a tag-along, anyway."

Jade didn't answer that.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _The Sentience-Sapience argument can be found in Chapter 17 of WeGotWinx's Boundaries of the Mind... if she ever gets around to posting it._


	99. Chapter 13-6 Part 99

_This one is in celebration of the completion of Tataroo Valley, Take 2! (It looks amazing. Ya'll are gonna be blown away next week when I replace the cover with it.)_

* * *

" _What technological miracle are you planning to spring on us now?" –Jade_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.6 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 99**

Once I'd gotten Jade the circles, chalks, and instructions he needed for cleaning up the top level of Luxen Tenebris, I started talking to the architects and engineers we'd brought with us, pointing out what we'd done as far as a refugee camp went on the two floors when Rem had unleashed that mess at the top of the tower.

That particular meeting lasted damn near three hours, and by the time I was done, I was so very tempted to just call for the elevator. Problem was, unless Jade was done, that could have some serious repercussions for my older brother, and I really didn't want him to die.

There was a reason why Guy was playing damage control by making sure no one could operate the elevator until Jade came down to join the rest of us.

Mind you, three hours in, and I was fairly sure that he'd finished and then promptly passed out. That wouldn't have surprised me in the least.

So that was why I was sitting there, talking to the engineers, and talking about the amount of work it would take to put in multiple elevators.

Thing was, with the way the tower was designed, while my idea to turn it into a city was perfectly plausible, the single, large elevator in the center of the space was apparently not a good thing.

Another hour passed as design ideas got passed around, a number of the architects seemingly surprised by some of the ideas I came up with, but Solace's fond smile every time I suggested something and the thoughtful look Tamara tended to get when I did so had most of them rolling with it and then finding that I wasn't as crazy as I sounded.

However, as we hit the five-hour mark, I sat down and started reaching telepathically, trying to find Jade. He should have come down by now...

Oh.

I smiled. I needn't have worried. Jade had exhausted himself and passed out upon finishing.

I headed for the elevator controls and brought it down, and the sight of my older brother sprawled rather unceremoniously in the center with chalk dust all over his fingers had me smiling, even as I walked over to him and managed to arrange him into a slightly more dignified position before tapping Solace's mind.

*Find him?* Solace asked.

*He's out until sometime tomorrow morning,* I replied. *Bring the others along; we should really head down to the barracks we found in the lab.*

*Aren't there still a few bodies that you haven't removed?* Solace asked.

*Yes, but... Oh. Siria's still in range of the elevator,* I realized. *Well, aside from her, the rest are all out of sight. So... well, they should already know the basics of what was going on down there, right?*

*True. I just hope this... Siria... doesn't cause too many problems with them.*

I did the equivalent of a mental shrug, half-nudging Solace but not really saying anything.

He pulled out of the channel, and a few moments later, walked into view with the men we'd been talking to.

"Is he going to be alright?" one of the men asked. I nodded.

"Yes. He just exhausted himself," I replied. "We're going to stop on the ground floor to get Guy, then we're going to head for the barracks in the laboratory. You've been informed of what was going on down there, yes?"

The men nodded, and I sighed.

"We've removed most of the bodies, but... there is still one within direct view of the elevator," I warned them as the last one stepped onto the elevator and Solace sent us hurtling down toward the ground floor. "That one is a little girl."

They all went stiff, realizing rather suddenly why the warning was necessary, and I smiled sadly. "Until we figure out more about her particular project, there's nothing we can really do about that."

"I see... that's terrible, though. Who would use a little girl for an experiment like that?" one of the men asked.

I sighed. "I wish I knew, honestly. We're still going through files, trying to figure out what we can. Most of the scientists on the project to figure that stuff out are currently at Eldrant. There's enough tech in the temple there for them to get things set up so they can look at _everything_ from one room..." I trailed of here and grimaced. "But that's why I need to be working on the passage ring _here_. If this one goes down, they lose all of the data they're working with."

The elevator stopped to let Guy on, and he smiled at Jade's head on my knees. "Now I see why _you_ didn't want to do it."

I smiled. "Jade's basically just a tag-along. Figured I might as well let him expend the energy while I dealt with architectural stuff and then the passage rings."

The elevator continued to drop, down into the basement which, for once, was already lit. Mostly because we'd seen no reason to turn the lights back off when we left the last time.

Once we hit the bottom, I picked Jade up—still way too easy for a man his height, I really needed to start getting on him to eat more often—and headed for the barracks. I knew I had most of the men behind me, but Guy was wandering off to find Saphir, who had come down here earlier before Jade headed up to deal with the mess Rem had made.

I put Jade in a bed, directed the others to another room, as I didn't really want them in the same room as me, Jade, Guy, Saphir, and Solace.

We'd already proven with the other group that putting nightmare-prone soldiers in a room with scientists was a really, really bad idea.

They tucked themselves away and went back to working on their ideas, Solace joining them, while I headed out to my temporary passage ring to start getting it reinforced.

The first thing I did was bring up the basic blueprints that all of the passage rings had been built on, and then Guy and Saphir got to work on the mechanics of it all while I did most of the overseeing. The thing with these two was that they were brilliant when it came to tinkering with the present level of technology in Auldrant.

Unfortunately, that left them both utterly helpless when faced with Dawn Age tech. Or the temporary passage ring I'd rigged up.

It was rough, and we'd need some kind of a focal point eventually, but I'd already asked if I could have one of the larger chunks of fonstone that the Order had gotten ahold of. Part of the third fonstone, I think it had been, and I'd seen the thing. It was big, big enough that if it had been hollow, I could have climbed into it, curled up, and taken a nap fairly comfortably.

Mind you, I wouldn't have been able to stretch at all, but I could have taken a fairly comfortable nap.

I didn't notice that the three of us had worked straight through the night until Jade found us around noon the next day, and, predictably, once we'd gotten all of the relays stable, the three of us headed to the barracks, ate, and crashed.

On the third day, while Saphir and Guy were finishing up the main electrical parts of the passage ring, I pulled out a data storage device I'd found, hooked it up, and copied the translation program onto it. It took about an hour, but at least it copied properly, and I glanced at the other two. Now that they were starting to figure it out, I figured I could leave them alone for just a little bit.

"Hey, guys?"

Guy looked up, Saphir continued fiddling with whatever he was working on.

"I'm gonna head back to Yulia City for a little bit. Once you've gotten the base of the passage ring set up, we'll need the fonstone, which is in a storage room in Daath, so it might be a day or two before we can get to that," I said.

Guy and Saphir both nodded, Saphir proving that he was paying attention, even if he wasn't looking at me.

I closed my eyes, focused on my usual terminal, and pulled on the miasma inside me.

A moment later, I was in the underbelly, at the western maintenance warp.

I started walking, vaguely remembering how to get to that hidden terminal from there, though it would probably take me longer than strictly necessary to actually find the thing again.

By the time I did find it, I was grateful that I wandered down here so often, or I'd have been totally lost.

I opened up the door again, using nothing but moon Energies, and then stepped in and up to the terminal, pulling out the device and plugging it up to the terminal in front of me.

It would take a bit for the translation program to upload and then actually translate anything, so I headed outside and walked to a terminal nearby, checking on all of the generators in the area and hoping that I wasn't going to find any odd power drains that shouldn't be happening.

Upon determining that there were no such power drains happening, I headed back to the hidden room, and smiled when I saw that the display was now showing the Fonic Language. It was short work to realize that I'd been correct, and the key to unlocking the Yulia City power generators had, indeed, been hidden away within the false generator.

I started tapping the keyboard, trying to see what files I could find on the blueprints or mechanics, while also running a full diagnostic of the whole system.

What I found when the diagnostic came back almost eight hours later, after I'd left, eaten, slept, and returned again, was nothing short of a shock.

Once I got over the initial shock, though, things started to make sense.

I wiped the data storage device—it had done its job, the translation program was now saved onto these servers—and started copying blueprints and the results of the diagnostic.

This was...

I kinda felt how I imagined Saphir or Guy might feel working with the passage rings. The sheer scope of Yulia's City's underbelly, the purposes the whole thing served, it was overwhelming, and I needed to share it with someone else. Because there was no island under the city. There was no little landmass supporting it...

It was a floating city, anchored in place by one large anchored chain and many stabilizing propellers.

Once I had the blueprints saved, I teleported back to Luxen Tenebris, landing at the top of the tower at the edge of the elevator and glancing around. Jade had done well with cleansing the area, and I nodded to myself before hitting the button that would summon the elevator.

It rose up with its usual speed, but the time in which it reached me said that it had been stopped at the had-been refugee camp levels.

I stepped onto it and dropped down to that point, noting that Solace was no longer alone. Fallon was here as well, and a few other replicas, and about half of the architects.

"Back from Yulia City?" Solace asked, spotting me first. I nodded.

"Yeah."

Fallon frowned. "You look a little shaken. Is everything alright?"

I crossed my arms and considered them. "Fine. Just... I think ya'll should join me down in the lab. I found a few interesting-looking projectors, I'd like to see what you'd make of this."

The men looked interested, and really, so did Solace and Fallon, so all of us piled back onto the elevator and dropped down into the basement. The rest of the group was down here with the previous team of engineers and scientists, tearing out as many of the test tubes as they could and hauling it all away to be taken apart and, if possible, recycled later.

I sent the group behind me to gather up everyone, then headed for the projectors I'd seen. I'd built into that open space when I was making my passage ring, but it wouldn't really affect it much, I hoped. I'd need to double check everything...

It didn't take me long to determine that no, my passage ring cutting into the middle of it wasn't a problem at all.

I pulled out my data storage device and hooked it up, then got it all set up. By the time I was ready, all of the current temporary inhabitants of the tower were in a loose circle around the projectors that I'd unburied and gotten prepped.

"So," Jade started. "What technological miracle are you planning to spring on us now?"

"One that I don't think we've quite managed on Earth yet," I replied. "Or if we have, not to this extent. Ladies and gentlemen..." I flipped the projector on, and a transparent blueprint of Yulia City in its entirety came up, eye level for the projection matching sea level in real life.

Most of the group just stared.

"Wait, is that..?" Guy started, looking confused. "No it can't be..." He glanced at me, at my probably still shell-shocked face, and then his eyes went wide. "It _is_ , isn't it?"

I forced a small smile and nodded.

"Is _what_?" Jade asked.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I present to you the blueprints to Yulia City."

There was a very definite silence that followed my statement.

"That's _impossible_ ," Saphir finally managed. "There's no way that one anchor in the center could hold it in place for two thousand years."

I shrugged. "It's not the only thing holding it in place," I said, rotating the image so the bottom end of the hologram was showing. "Recognize the supports?"

From the expression Saphir wore, the answer was 'yes'.

"Well. I guess now we know where Van got the anti-grav designs from," Jade said, sounding rather astounded still.

I nodded. "They're set to keep Yulia City at natural sea level. There's a secondary set of anti-gravs to keep the whole thing level. Then there are also propellers all over around the edges to help adjust the city and keep it at the same coordinates, unlike the Isle of Feres, which is still floating around wherever it damn well pleases," I said. "That chain? That's actually supposed to be the city's last mechanism to keep in the same place if the propellers can't kick in properly."

That got all of them taking another long look at the blueprints.

"That's... impressive..." Jade managed, apparently at a loss for words.

I took a deep breath, righted the image so it was once again floating in the air at eye level, and crossed my arms. "Unfortunately, we've got more than a few problems."

Yulia City was fascinating.

And it was broken.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _How DOES Yulia City float on the mud &miasma/ocean?_

 _...Whelp, there's my theory that will be Ripples!canon. So yeah. -nods-_

 _Unfortunately, sticking something in the mud for 2k years is, uh... A Bad Idea._


	100. Chapter 13-7 Part 100

_This chapter brought to you by the completion of Syal's Prayer in shield form. XD_

 _Also, to the Guest reviewer who guessed the line in the 'Fun Fact' of Part 97 was from Kingdom Hearts, I'm sorry, but that's incorrect._

 _It's actually from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, in a skit where Emil is trying to figure out what happened to his original clothes. "Only the darkness knows" is Tenebrae's response. (But I get the feeling Tenebrae did with those ugly, boring clothes the same thing that Shadow did to that poor monstrosity of a flying chair.)_

* * *

" _I thought Badaq died with my wife... and found him still alive within my daughter." –Largo_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.7 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 100**

I looked over the reports for Daath's few damages, Chesedonia's repairs, and the massive amount of work that getting Yulia City's anti-gravs to adjust to a higher altitude was turning into.

It should have been easy, but unfortunately, the anti-gravs themselves were problems of their own. The bad news? They were starting to get corroded, which would eventually lead to Yulia City simply sinking below the surface. (Legend of Atlantis, anyone?) The good news was, if we could get the anti-gravs to cooperate, fixing them would be simple.

I sighed and managed to slip out of my office, heading out the door and down toward the lobby. I didn't want to go, but if I didn't, I was sure to get bitched at for not showing up, and I really, really didn't want to deal with Nordheim in a bad mood.

Peony had already apologized profusely in the letter, claiming that if he could have sent Jade, he would, but Jade was apparently busy working with the teams in Grand Chokmah as they built that back up from the foundations that Gnome and Undine were helping to create.

That the two of them were helping had originally come as a surprise to everyone... except me.

I'd just crossed my arms, shrugged, and given them all unamused looks.

"It's Undine's ocean. I'd think that she'd like a say in exactly how much of a mess you make of it," I'd stated.

That had gotten everyone to shut up, thankfully.

I made it down to the lobby and walked over to General Nordheim, who was, thankfully, preoccupied with talking to one of the lesser Maestros.

"I don't know what that Aurelius boy was thinking," the Maestro was saying. I resisted the urge to interrupt the conversation, and instead stood about two yards away, fully capable of getting their attention if they so much as bothered to look my way. "She's certainly done a fair job, I can't argue that, but that woman is _not_ qualified—Oh! Major Balfour!"

I deliberately raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please gentlemen, continue your discussion. I obviously have nothing better to do."

They at least had the decency to look sheepish.

I turned to Nordheim and nodded. "General Nordheim. Emperor Peony sent word you'd be coming to discuss the military alliance between Daath and Malkuth."

"Indeed. I had hoped that this could wait until after your official promotion, but the Council is pushing for us to review all previous treaties as soon as possible and begin drawing up new ones for Norn and Hod," he replied.

Well, at least he was being polite. The least I could do was the same.

I nodded again. "This way, if you would please? I'm afraid our usual meeting room on the ground floor was... repurposed."

More like turned into a storage room during the mass panic over the sentiences.

He nodded, giving me that knowing look, and I led him to one of the side glyphs in what was commonly called 'The Glyph Room' and activated it.

Once it had dumped us in what honestly looked like a reception area, I led him to one of the doors lining it and held it open.

He stepped in and over to the table. "Will it just be us, or will we be joined by the Fon Master or one of the other God-Generals?" Nordheim asked.

"Us. The Fon Master does not get involved with the military side of the Order of Lorelei unless we _need_ his signature on something, and while he will need to sign off on this, he does not need or _want_ to be here for the technical political... stuff," I replied. "Also, you kinda have to consider the fact that he's really only the acting Fon Master, and as the next two highest-ranked Order members behind him are the acting Grand Maestro, Teodoro, and myself as acting Commandant..." I stopped and gave Nordheim a pointed look.

"I think you need to get your command structure worked out again," he mused.

"I think our higher ups need to stop ditching on us," I replied as cheerfully as possible. "Well. Ditching, or going bat-shit crazy and trying to destroy the world." I shrugged. "I'll take the ditching. Less to clean up in the end."

And _that_ got a laugh out of the general, though it was somewhat forced, even as he sat down and pulled out the document detailing the previous military alliance between the Order of Lorelei and Malkuth.

The Order had these sorts of alliances with both Malkuth and Kimlasca, and I knew it wouldn't be long before Norn and Hod would be joining that number. Daath was a neutral country, and we were going to do our damndest to stay that way, no matter what anyone said.

Reading over the specifics was boring, but at least it gave me something to do that got my mind off of the more troublesome things. Like what I was going to do about Yulia City if we couldn't get the anti-gravs to cooperate. And the renovation that was going on at Luxen Tenebris.

As it turned out, the replicas had actually found multiple little safe havens across Auldrant, and with Sylph's help and a bit of flying around with Noelle, Solace and Fallon had found another three hundred replicas to add to their already sizable two hundred at Fandral.

Fandral would only support two to three hundred. Five hundred... no, they needed Luxen Tenebris as soon as possible.

And I'd finally gotten the date for the next peace conference that morning, too, so I still needed to make those plans.

Getting everything ironed out in that little agreement, though, did not take long, and I was more than happy to put my signature to the document and then make good use of my telepathy to call Florian in.

This was military, so it needed my signature, but it was also something that involved Daath as a whole, and that meant it needed the highest level signature it could get—the acting Fon Master's.

Thankfully, we'd cleared things up enough that Florian was now signing with his own name instead of Ion's.

There was no Ion. Not anymore.

Once both our signatures were on the document, General Nordheim was shown out to the lobby again, and though I offered him lunch to try to be polite, it was turned down.

I walked back up to my office to get back to my paperwork, and was a bit surprised to find a box on my desk that had _not_ been there when I'd left.

There was a note on top that had my name on the outside, and I pulled that out and double-checked the handwriting against what I could remember of my friends.

York. This was York's handwriting.

 _For the next peace conference, since it'll be the last one before your official promotion. The other half will be along later—find something nice to wear under this._

I frowned at the note, then put it on the table and pulled the top off of the box.

What lay within was a tabard.

A personalized tabard.

I hated the damn things usually, but this...

I pulled it out, ran over to my closet, and found a pair of black pants and a black tank top I could pull on. My black fingerless gloves from the Blue Flame Fonist outfit Peony had made for me were found as well, and my purple boots from the War Witch outfit.

Putting all of it on didn't take me long, and I looked in the mirror after I managed to get the tabard into place.

The tabard was mostly black, with primarily violet edging. It was the bits of red, orange, and gold that got to me, though. My favorite color (that wasn't black, white, or a shade of gray), mixed with the colors of fire. There was a bit of a wing to the right shoulder, but nothing on the left side.

And, when I turned around, I could see the patterns on the back that seemed to mimic flames.

I grinned. It was perfect, and probably the only tabard I would ever willingly wear.

York had outdone himself with this, and from the sounds of it, he'd been working on the uniform that would go under it, as well.

I'd admit it. I was impressed.

I pulled the tabard off with a surprising reluctance and put it away, along with the rest of what I'd found to go under it for the time being. I would have to wait for York to send the other half, I supposed.

At least now I had something that looked nice and official and would get the Maestros off my ass. They pissed me off so much with their complaints about me sometimes. As if I didn't know that I wasn't really qualified for this job. But that was how the hand had been dealt, and I'd deal with it. It pleased me as little as it pleased them.

I glanced over the rest of the papers on my desk. Nothing I hadn't already looked over... good. That meant I was free to go do something else now, like, say... talk to Saphir and Guy about the projects I had them working on.

My ideas were starting to come to fruition, and as soon as they'd managed to do so, I could get to work on setting up a world-wide network. It wasn't just so I'd have something we'd had on Earth. Yes, it was definitely nice being able to communicate with people halfway around the world, but the main reason for the network I was building was actually to help monitor fonon usage by fontech.

Undine had confirmed that she would destroy any fontech that was sapping too many fourth fonons, and the others had confirmed that they'd do the same if necessary, so I'd taken to looking at the Yulia City generators for power ideas that didn't involve sapping obnoxious amounts of fonons in.

Those ideas were being put to use with Guy's project.

Saphir was working on miniaturizing the massive anti-grav structures that kept Yulia City and Eldrant floating above the water and in the air, respectively.

Between the two of them, I hoped to be able to launch the aerial anchors for the network within the month.

Unfortunately, in order to launch them, I'd have to get permission from the other four countries, as the anchors would automatically find their geographic coordinates and then hover there, and most of them would be over the other countries, as Daath was relatively small as far as landmass went.

That was why I needed to finish outlining my plan for the next conference. Most of it would be me explaining things with the passage rings, I realized after a moment. Since the rest was just a confirmation that all was going well and we were still well on track to completing all of our projects on time.

Once I'd gotten my plans written up and then copied—a few times—I headed out to the only other currently-occupied room in the God-Generals' hallway. It was Largo's at the moment. For a while there, it had been Reighn's, but he spent more time in his old room closer to the Fon Masters' suite than he did here, and that didn't really surprise me, so Largo having moved back into his room had not bothered any of us.

I knocked on the door. It was fairly late, so I figured he'd probably be here...

He opened the door, glanced out, blinked at me, and then motioned for me to step inside, which I did after a moment.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

I held out a datapad, on which was a digitized version of what he would find as a very familiar document, once he read it.

He frowned, took the datapad, sat down, and read through it quickly, eyes widening slightly before he looked up at me. I shrugged a bit.

"I can't lead the military side of the Order of Lorelei by myself," I started. "Asch is the King of Kimlasca, he's technically already resigned. Cantabile has turned in _her_ resignation. Sync will be resigning and then enlisting in the Malkuth military once he's able. This leaves me, Reighn, and Luke. Aerith might have been acting as a so-to-speak co-commander for the Sixth Division, but she honestly wants nothing to do with the Order outside of Luke and her brother. And that honestly leaves me with just you for right now."

Largo looked down at the page, then nodded. "I need to fix my paperwork," he said. "While the Order's records did, originally, list me as Badaq Oakland, most of it's under Largo."

"Intending to go back to your original name?" I asked with a small smile.

"I thought Badaq died with my wife... and found him still alive within my daughter."

My small smile widened. "I'll be glad to have you either way, though... will I need to set up the paperwork to put your country of origin as Kimlasca, or Daath, seeing as Chesedonia is being annexed?"

"I was actually born in Kimlasca. Might as well use Kimlasca," he replied.

I smiled. I understood that. My own paperwork had me listed as Malkuth for a lack of a better place to put down as my country of origin.

Though, now that everyone actually knew I was from another world, I could probably go in and start making that little edit. It would be a strange sort of edit, but then it would be correct, and I figured that at this point, they'd prefer my paperwork correct over simply _done_.

I left Largo with his reinstatement papers on the datapad as I headed back to my room. I needed to finish getting ready for the next conference, and I needed to sleep.

Really, really needed to sleep.

So I wasn't all that surprised when I managed to get my boots off and fell over in the bed, already well on my way to dreamland.

Midnight wake-up calls, on the other hand, were not at all appreciated, and I was ready to murder someone by the time I'd gotten dressed after being woken up.

And it really was _midnight_.

I stepped out into the hallway and leveled the nastiest glare I could on Rialle for daring to wake me up in the middle of the night. "What?"

Rialle looked shaken, and it took me a few minutes to realize that she had looked shaken before I'd come out of my room snarling. "Outside. You have to... You have to see this, I..."

The irritation was gone in seconds, and I put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy. Where?"

Rialle turned and took off, racing down through the halls and outside, out the door.

I found myself semi-grateful for the sunburst crystal then. It helped keep me awake.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Uh... Largo lives all the way to the Future Arcs, apparently. O.o_

 _I was not expecting that one to pan out like this, but it did. At least it's Largo, who has switched to the side of not-trying-to-kill-everybody. Unlike Mr. Responsible-for-the-Midnight-Wakeup-Call here. -scowls- Any guesses who_ that _annoyance is?_


	101. Chapter 13-8 Part 101

_This chapter brought to you by the completion of Alvess' Dance! Or, well, chakrams-form, at least. XD_

 _Well, and..._

 _V01d: You have any plans to post a new chapter today?  
Me: On the contrary... I have plans to post THREE new chapters. XD_

 _Enjoy! (The next one'll be up pretty quick, the last one I still need to edit. -is shot-)_

* * *

" _Three guesses how Malkuth got involved, and if the first two aren't 'Jade', they don't count." –Reighn_

" _Gnome, darling... you just solved about a quarter of the problems on my plate." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.8 – Rebuilding a New Auldrant  
Part 101**

I sat at the table at the peace conference wearing a scowl. Teodoro wasn't here yet to play mediator, and that meant that I was stuck simply sitting here until he arrived.

"What's got you in a mood?" Peony asked.

I hissed. "You're going to find out as soon as Teodoro can be bothered to show up."

That kept everyone around the table quiet as we waited. A few other people were running late, but Teodoro was the mediator, so we were waiting on him so we could actually start.

Then he finally showed up, and I fought back the urge to run over and start smacking him for being late.

Well, no, he was right on time, but the rest of us had all been here for a while.

And from the way he pointedly walked around the far side of the table from me, I think he realized that I was not in the mood to wait. I had work to get done, and while I _had_ been looking forward to this...

Teodoro sat down, shifted his papers a little bit as he glanced through them, and then stood up again. "Good morning. I would like to announce this meeting of the peace conferences begun. To start us this morning, I believe the Commandant has an announcement to make."

I fought back the urge to snarl as I stood up and sat one of the smaller holoprojectors I'd found on the table. Then I turned it on. Everyone here was an adult. They could handle the bloody imagery that was about to be shown.

And really, I'd been nice. I'd had the body removed before taking the picture of the wall.

That didn't mean that they couldn't all figure out exactly what the message was written in, nor what it meant.

"That..." Jade started.

"This message was left, along with the body of the pour soul that blood came from, in the residential district of Daath at twenty-three-forty hours, three nights ago. Witness descriptions of the man responsible pin the blame on one former Grand Maestro Mohs. Given the content of the message left behind and the fact that this picture was taken at oh-one-hundred the next morning, I'm inclined to believe them."

There was a long moment of silence, before Jade adjusted his glasses. "I'm guessing this means Daath's putting out a capture-on-sight order for all of its allies."

"Yes," I replied, glaring at the holographic words on the wall that had been the reason for the midnight wake-up call a few days previously.

Mohs was getting bolder... and more dangerous. To the point of murdering a man and leaving a rather obvious message behind.

 _Return to the Score._

"As a reminder, I've sent out missives to each of the military leaders in each country." They'd been sent to Del and Guy for Norn and Hod, respectively, as I knew Del was working on setting up the military in Norn, and wasn't sure who, if anyone, was going to spearhead that project in Hod.

I sat down at that point, turned my little holoprojector off, and went back to generally scowling at anyone and everyone. Now it was time for everyone to go back to their reports on how the rebuilding was going, and thanks to Florian ditching on me, that meant either I'd have to do it, or...

"I've got the rebuilding reports," Reighn muttered next to me, quiet enough that no one else would be able to hear, but loud enough that I could.

"Thanks," I grunted back.

That meant I didn't really have to pay attention to anything, and could sit here and scowl at my holoprojector like that was going to change anything about the image it had displayed a few minutes ago.

I did finally managed to mostly calm myself down by the time that Teodoro indicated the rebuild reports were over.

"And the last thing on today's agenda..." Teodoro paused and glanced at me. "Or would you rather save it for next time?"

I blinked at him, wondering for a moment what he was talking about, before I remembered why I'd originally been so excited by this conference. "Oh! Oh, no, no, I can do it now!" I replied, brain finally kicking back in as I pulled out my datapad, which I'd gotten back from Largo the afternoon after Mohs' calling card had been left. I plugged it into the holoprojector and started tapping away, then turned the holoprojector on.

This time, the image was much less... unpleasant.

"What are we looking at now...?" Asch muttered.

I smiled. "Glad you asked." And... now everyone was looking at me like I'd lost my mind. I sighed. "Okay, before I get any further, if I seem a bit bipolar, I'm sorry, but this is just the sort of thing I needed to distract me from a homicide that I can't do anything about," I added.

The others at the table all gave me a knowing nod, and now that the weird looks were gone, I could start explaining the rough image of Auldrant, which was kindly spinning, as it was in fact a globe.

"So. I should hope everyone recognizes Auldrant. I know there's been a lot of discussion about the rise in fonons, the possibility of the sentiences stepping in to prevent the over-use of fonons, and talk of a means of communicating with people on the other side of the planet, seeing as it proved to be a very useful tool for the isofons involved in the Sentience War." Why did they have to name it that...?

I got a lot of nods, and I tapped a few more things on my datapad.

Little... honestly, they looked almost like satellites, just not quite outside Auldrant's atmosphere... popped up all around the world.

"With some help, I've managed to design a net of these aerial anchors," I paused to gesture to one of the little satellites, "and I'd like to begin implementing them as soon as we can get them all built. The prototypes will be launching over their coordinates in Daath's airspace within a few weeks."

"And this matters to the rest of us because...?" Count Almandine started. Oh boy, he was in one of his 'if it doesn't involve me, I don't care' moods. Apparently losing Kaitzur had done no wonders for the man's temperament.

"Because, in case the diagram isn't clear enough, the red-marked anchors are the ones within Daath's airspace. The rest... I, and my team, need permission from the various countries to launch."

That got their attention back on me.

I crossed my arms and examined my holographic globe. "The FonNet, as we've started calling it, would be beneficial to all five countries, and as it is, my team already contains representatives from four of the five. Discussions with Malkuth have been opened already as well," I continued.

"And what purpose does this... FonNet serve?" Goldberg asked.

I smiled. "Fonon level observation, cross-planetary communication, a means to monitor the sentiences beyond simply having to rely on the Clans?" Ooh, now everyone was interested. "They'll be the aerial counterparts to the sephiroth. As stated before, we'll be up to a total of twelve passage rings." A little bit of tapping, and the passage rings lit up in gold against the pale blue of Auldrant. "Notice something?"

"The aerials cover the spaces in between the passage rings," Jade mused. Then he paused, frowned, and his eyes widened ever so slightly. "You're planning to direct the natural fonon flares through the aerials."

I nodded.

"Uh, someone want to explain _that_ bit for those of us who aren't exactly scientists?" Asch asked.

I fought down the urge to grin, even as Guy stood up.

"Auldrant's sephiroth all either suck in or spit out fonons in a steady stream. The largest two, the Absorption and Radiation Gates, are _named_ for that phenomenon," he started.

I tapped my datapad a bit, and half of the little yellow spots turned purple, including the Radiation Gate. Guy chuckled a bit.

"There are natural flows to those fonon ejection and absorption patterns, and the Planet Storm, while powerful, resulted in that natural flow being a bit... Ah..."

"It was disruptive. That's a large part of why the fonon levels are _still_ rising. Auldrant's core has been over-producing for so long to counter the disruptive flow that it's _still_ over-producing," I continued. "In the long run, it just means we're going to have a lot more fonons for the next century or two before they drop back down to the normal levels. However, that heightened fonon concentration has done us some serious good, and by 'us', I mean my passage ring team."

Asch chuckled. "I'm guessing you used the fonon flow to track the natural fonon movement."

"Exactly. And that natural flow is called a flare," I replied. "The natural flares aren't disruptive, because that's how they're _supposed_ to flow, and pulling the fonons through those original arcs isn't going to keep disrupting the flares."

I tapped on my datapad a bit, and green curves stretched, arrows and movement telling everyone which way they were flowing. One end would start at a purple dot, and it would end at a yellow dot. Most dots had three or four green hoops coming to or from.

Every single aerial was on an intersection between two of the green lines.

I enlarged the image a bit more, let it continue spinning, and settled back in my chair a little bit.

"You said something about communication?" Solace asked after everyone had gotten a few minutes to stare at the hovering globe. I grinned.

"Yes, yes I did. Right now, a lot of the radio fontech being used in the field by the military relies on the fontech being within a certain distance. Between some of the transmitting tech we've found in Yulia City and Luxen Tenebris, and my own knowledge of how long-distance communication worked on Earth, we've worked out a communication array for the aerials. As I've stated before, we are planning to launch the prototypes in Daath's airspace by the end of the month. It's all worked so far in our testing, but then, it's difficult to accurately model the kind of distance that will be between the aerials and whatever devices are utilizing them from the ground," I said. "I'll have more information on that once we've gotten the field testing done."

"I have a question," Peony said after a moment. "Are you planning to distribute _that_ kind of technology, too?" He pointed to my datapad and holoprojector

I couldn't help it. I snorted. Judging from the expressions on the faces of every person that actually _knew_ the emperor, all of us knew _exactly_ what he wanted to use it for.

But he'd asked a question, and the honest answer...

"Yes. Right now it's being restricted mostly to the people involved in either the passage ring projects, or the Yulia City power generator projects, but there's a group in Yulia City that's also working on recreating the holoprojector tech. It's come in fairly handy so far," I paused to gesture to my still-floating globe with its colored markings all over it, "and I'd certainly like to see the datapads get distributed. I've been using a number of them around Daath in the last month to help me keep track of all of the paperwork I've had to fill out or send to other people."

A few nods seemed to pass around the table, and Jade smiled a little bit, even as I finally shut the holoprojector down and pulled it back over to me.

Asch was just short of smirking. "You said you've already opened up discussions with Malkuth?"

Jade cleared his throat. "Not _officially_ , but it's definitely on the table, and has been for a few weeks now. We've mostly been waiting for the announcement to be made to really start discussing it," he stated.

"Three guesses how Malkuth got involved, and if the first two aren't 'Jade', they don't count," I heard Reighn mutter. I snorted. I couldn't help it.

So when everyone looked over at me confusedly, and I glanced at Reighn's utterly innocent expression, I busted up laughing.

"What did he say that the rest of us missed?" Peony asked, sounding amused.

I fought down the laughter and just grinned. "For information's sake, Jade is involved in the FonNet Project, so if anyone's wondering how it already got to Malkuth, there's your answer," I said.

And it looked like the joke was mostly understood now. Excellent.

Teodoro chuckled a bit. "Well. Since that seems to wrap up the last subject that was on our itinerary today, I believe now might be an excellent time to adjourn."

I smiled and nodded, in an infinitely better mood than I'd been in when I'd walked in. That had gone over well. Malkuth would more than likely at least vote to _test_ the FonNet. And at this point, I didn't have much else to do than test everything and get everyone else in on it.

I headed out with a small smile on my face, barely even registering that I'd picked up a tail as I headed down into the underbelly of Yulia City. It was a veritable hive of activity down there now, but slipping around everyone was still as easy as ever.

Except, my tail was doing a very good job of staying on my tail.

Oh well.

I made it to the offshoot unimpeded, then stopped and turned around.

Gnome.

I crossed my arms. "Hello."

He glanced around. "I must admit. The technology here is impressive, for all that it does not create a veritable sinkhole for fonons. Not something I have seen often."

I shrugged. "Which is why we're trying to recreate it," I admitted. I turned and headed down the offshoot, motioning for Gnome to follow me.

"And the aerials you mentioned earlier?"

"Once they're up there, they'll be held in place by the fonon flares," I said. "It drops the fonon requirements drastically. Even then, running them on the ground isn't nearly as taxing as some of the landships Kimlasca's built." I opened up the hidden terminal and stepped into the space, pulling up diagrams and trying to figure out how to get the anti-gravs to cooperate.

Gnome glanced over it. "Vhat are you trying to accomplish _here_?" he asked.

"Anti-gravs need worked on. Actually, all of the submerged systems need worked on. Which means we need them _above_ water," I replied.

Gnome nudged me to the side slightly and took over the computer, operating it with an ease that, admittedly, made me jealous.

When he stopped and pointed, I blinked a few times, then smiled.

"Gnome, darling... you just solved about a quarter of the problems on my plate."

Gnome chuckled a bit. "You are velcome."

I reached out for Teodoro's mind. Time to get Yulia City up in the air.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Gnome is better with fontech than Kairi is. I blame the fact that he lived during the Kingdom of Terises, since we've already established that they had higher-level tech than even the Dawn Age._


	102. Chapter 13-9 Part 102

_This one in celebration of the completion of Phaïe's Song! I'm on a roll!_

 _(Okay, no, seriously. Go stalk my DeviantART. I'm getting so much done this month. It's awesome. (Not that anything's been posted except for Kairi's Promise Ring. But really. STALK IT. Especially on the 17th. XD))_

* * *

" _She's_ excited _. I'd say so." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 13.9 – Rebuilding the New Auldrant  
Part 102**

It was a lovely day. That much could not be denied, even though I was moving pretty damn quickly as I walked through the streets of Grand Chokmah.

Yes. Grand Chokmah.

Between Gnome, Undine, and the various architects that had been at work trying to rebuild, the base of the city was already mostly replaced, and numerous buildings were being erected around the city.

At the moment, most of the population was either still at Eldrant, or living in tents just outside the city. But the fact of the matter was, the buildings going up were for other things. Shops, the inn, the palace, the military headquarters...

I couldn't stop smiling, even as I made the careful trek through the streets.

The problem with tearing a city down and then completely rebuilding it was that it tended to change. Grand Chokmah would always be the floating capital, a city on the water, but then... It would also be the city of fountains and bridges.

And the street layout had completely changed.

So I was doing my damndest not to get lost as I headed for the palace.

Picking up a blonde-haired, blue-eyed tail was not really expected.

Especially since, last I'd checked, that particular presence had had blue hair and red eyes.

I paused and glanced back at Undine. "Turned yourself into one of your own Ferines, did you?" I asked.

She paused, then stepped forward enough to be standing equal with me. "It keeps people from immediately recognizing me, usually."

I smiled. "I'm telepathic. I have an advantage most people don't."

"True..." she mused.

"So, what are you still doing here?" I asked, starting to walk again.

"Turning more Ferines. The construction workers keep falling in the water. If they can't get out and they're compatible, I turn them. If not... Well. At least that's a few dozen workers that haven't drowned in the waters I'm trying to keep clean."

I paused as I spotted something reddish in the water. "Is that..."

She glanced at me, and I shifted a little.

Yup. It was.

"You realize we're trying to give the Ferines their autonomy, right?" I muttered.

"True, and while most will go to Hod, some will never give up their current loyalties." She paused here and glanced at me. "Speaking of which... I still need to talk to the replicas... I've already begun building in the caverns under the landmass Rem calls home."

Ortion Caverns? Huh. I nodded to indicate that I knew where.

"I was thinking... You managed to lift Yulia City out of the water before I actually started this project," Undine continued. I hummed.

"You want to put Daath's Ferines village under Yulia City?" I asked. Undine nodded. I crossed my arms and thought about it. "Not a bad idea, as long as the Ferines are willing to keep the anti-gravs maintained. Those, the stabilizers... if any of that fails, the whole city either floats off like the Isle of Feres, or it sinks. As fascinating as the legend of Atlantis was back home, I'd _really_ rather Yulia City go the same way."

Undine raised an eyebrow. "Atlantis?"

I shrugged. "Whole city sank into the ocean. From what we can tell, it _did_ actually exist, but we can't really find it."

"Noted."

I smiled a bit as the palace came into sight. It looked like it was going to look even more beautiful than before. And... Was that...

I giggled a bit at the workers that were on break. Because one of them had dark skin, and orange-red eyes.

Ifrit glanced over at me, grinned, waved, and went back to whatever conversation they were preoccupied with.

"Hmph. I hadn't even noticed he was here."

I snickered. "I think he's been taking lessons from Gnome. _He_ seems the master of hiding right out in the open."

"Must be, since except for whenever we've been working on the foundations, I can't seem to find him."

"St. Binah. He's in St. Binah," I replied. "And Shadow is currently babysitting the hatchlings, with copious amounts of help from me, since at least one of us registers as a parent to the little terrors."

Undine shot me an incredulous look, and I shrugged. "Ifrit's got the fire, I've got the telepathy. Ergo, apparently that makes him Dad and me Mom. Which... is kinda screwed up. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of _eleven_ kids now, and only one of them is human. Except the one human is on another world altogether."

The snort was unexpected. The laughter that followed it was less so.

I grinned. Oh goody. It worked on Undine too.

"So, what, one human on another world, and ten dragonets?" she asked. I shook my head.

"One human on another world who now has _three_ dads, one water spirit, who calls Reighn Aurelius her Papi, a _fire_ spirit who apparently doesn't have a dad, just has me, and who is having too much fun avoiding Ifrit, a light spirit born of me trying to do something about Rem's sunburst crystal..." I paused, then nodded. "Okay, so there's only ten. Because it's Lloyd, the three spirits, and the six dragonets. Three of the nightwings, two lightning-chasers, and one of the water dragonets that's been dumped on Eldrant. In fact, that one got to calling me 'Mama' _because_ Thalassa called me Mema."

Undine just kept giggling, and I stopped just outside the palace and smiled at her. "I'd love to continue this conversation, but unfortunately, I need to go deal with politics."

She nodded, turned to walk off, and paused a few feet away. "Think you might be able to talk again after?" she asked.

I nodded. "Sure. I've got nothing I need to get done other than finalizing the FonNet Aerial Launches here in Malkuth. It won't actually take me that long," I replied. I paused to look up and around. "Though... I gotta ask. Are the Guardian Falls not going back up?"

Undine paused, glanced around, and tilted her head to the side. "...Guardian Falls?"

"Ah had those mostly destroyed bah the tahm Gnome freed ya," Ifrit said as he walked over. "The men've been talkin' 'bout tryin' ta recreate 'em. They're thinkin' ya didn't already build _those_ foundations 'cause the fonon requirements were too hah."

I shook my head. "No. Even I could tell you, those things barely make a dent in the fonon counts in the area," I replied. "Tell you what. Let me go deal with the politics, and when I come back, I'll walk you through the basics."

Undine nodded, and I turned and headed into the palace. I glanced around as the door closed behind me. This had been one of the main projects early on, mostly so that Emperor Peony could get off of Eldrant. Especially after it was decided that Eldrant would become the capital of Hod. He needed to be in his own capital, and so the palace had been rebuilt.

As it was, Asch was currently based in Belkend, and Solace, Fallon, and Path were at Luxen Tenebris.

Del was in Daath, happily ensconced in the Oracle Knights well before any revisions of the acceptance policies could be made. Hooray for loopholes.

The palace had been redesigned as well, though, and that meant I needed to look around a bit to find Peony and Jade.

I could _feel_ them, but sadly, walking in a straight line toward them likely wasn't going to help me much.

"Looking for someone?"

I glanced over and grinned.

Alex had been in St. Binah, and hadn't made it out after one of Gnome's attacks. But Levi...

"Good to see you still kicking," I said. Levi smirked back.

"That goes double for you. Heard you're the Commandant now."

"Not officially, not yet at least. Sadly, a certain pregnant woman I know is puttering around in here somewhere is still the Commandant according to the paperwork," I replied. "You wouldn't _happen_ to know where said pregnant woman's fiancé is though, would you?"

Levi gestured for me to follow him. "I was headed for Jade, myself. Word came in from General Frings. We've finally got a full body count for each battle outside St. Binah. Apparently Gnome finally realized we were looking for the bodies of the men and women he outright _buried_." He paused and looked over at me. "They found Alex, too."

I nodded. "Funeral?"

"Right now, we're basically cremating everyone, then burying the urns once we've had the chance to track down family," he said as we walked. "I'll send word when the funeral is, but I think Alex is going to be in one of the mass funerals. He doesn't really have any family left, so..."

I nodded. "I'd like to be there, at least. Any idea where Arielle and Barst are?" I asked.

Levi frowned, then shrugged. "No idea who they are."

I snorted. "That's fine. I'll either track them down, or find the bodies eventually." Though, I kinda hoped I wouldn't find bodies. Those two were good friends, and I'd lost too many of those already.

Levi stopped at a door and knocked.

"Oh for heavens' sake..." I heard Jade mutter.

"I promise it won't take long," I called. "Well. Mine won't."

Levi snorted, even as the door opened and Jade scowled at the both of us. I immediately whipped out a datapad. "Your signature and your pest's signature. Then I can leave."

Jade blinked, skimmed through the document on the datapad, and nodded, pulling out the stylus and signing it quickly before handing it off to Emperor Peony, who'd stood up and joined him at the door when I'd mentioned needing 'Jade's pest's signature'.

Levi was staring at the two, and giving me an amused look. I shrugged. "What?"

Levi rolled his eyes as Jade's attention shifted to him. "General Frings sent word from St. Binah. We've got the final body counts for all of the St. Binah battles," he said, holding out a folded paper. Jade took the paper, unfolded it, and nodded as he looked over it.

"Thank you."

Levi turned, waved at me somewhat, and headed off, while Peony handed my datapad back. Two signatures, a saved document, and a locked datapad, and I slipped it into my bag. "Good day, then, boys."

"What, not going to stick around for a few minutes?" Peony asked.

I turned and smirked. "No. I told Undine I'd help her figure out how to rebuild the Guardian Falls."

Both of them reacted to that one.

"Undine's still in Grand Chokmah?!"

I nodded. "Yes. Oh, and you guys might want to start setting up something to account for the fact that there's also going to be a small Ferines village under the city. Looks like Undine's given up on trying to get _all_ of her Ferines to go to Hod. Most of them will, but..."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "So she's giving the ones who don't want to leave a place to live that will keep them well within Malkuth."

"Kimlasca's Ferines village is in the Ortion Caverns, and once Yulia City's anti-gravs and stabilizers are fixed, she'll be building Daath's right under the city," I replied. "Not sure what's going to happen with Norn. She needs to talk to Solace about that, still."

"Gotcha. So... Guardian Falls?" Peony asked. "I know a lot of people have been worried about those. Wouldn't be the floating fortress if we didn't have those waterfalls, so..."

"Ifrit had those mostly destroyed by the time Undine was freed," I said. "She never realized they'd existed. So I'm going to go help her with that."

Jade nodded.

"Oh, and Jade?"

"Yes?"

"When's your wedding, again?"

Jade blinked at me a few times, then glanced back into his temporary office. "Shit. Next week."

I snorted. That's what I thought. He'd totally forgotten.

"If I have to drag you out of your office next Sylphday, I swear to every deity that will listen, Cantabile _will_ be hearing about it," I called over my shoulder as I strode off.

From the way Peony was laughing behind me, I got the feeling he wasn't going to be stopping me if I needed to do so. In fact, he might be helping.

I shook my head at my brother's antics. Only Jade...

I found my way back out of the palace fairly easily, and found Undine sitting with her boots in the water. I supposed it was Ferines clothing, after all. That, and, well... sentience of water. It wouldn't bother her much.

A glance around found Ifrit and the workers he'd been with earlier back at work, putting the colonnades back up around the courtyard. I smiled a bit watching them work, even as Undine moved to stand. A waved hand had her relaxing into her seat again, and I kicked my boots off, pulled my socks off, and rolled my pants up, joining her.

"For someone so heavily aligned with fire, you have quite a fascination with water and ice," she mused.

I shrugged. "I was born in a place where the nearest large body of water was miles away. Nearest ocean? Ha. Nice joke. That's the problem with being land-locked." I kicked my feet back and forth a bit. "And anyway, I need _something_ to temper the fire."

Undine nodded. "Indeed. Now. You said something about Guardian Falls?"

I smiled and pulled on moon and earth Energies. "Close your eyes?"

Undine blinked at me for a moment, but then did so, and I pulled the memory sphere into place around me, my own eyes sliding closed as I remembered Grand Chokmah as it had been right before the Blue Lights Festival.

I'd always found the Guardian Falls amazing, and I'd looked at them again after returning, knowing full well that Undine's freedom would be straining the fonic glyphs.

I felt more than saw the sentience's comprehension, and pulled away.

By the time I had opened my eyes again, Undine was on her feet, racing across the top of the water, out to roughly where the Guardian Falls had been before. She looked around, then moved, wandering around as she continued to look here and there.

Then I felt her tapping against my loose field, and I opened a channel. *Yes?*

*I need Gnome again,* she said, sounding almost _giddy_. I hummed.

*I'll be right back,* I replied, pulling my feet out of the water and pulling out a towel to dry them off before pulling my socks and boots back on.

In minutes, I was in St. Binah, and racing toward where I'd last seen Gnome working. He was on break, good.

He looked up as I ran over. "Undine needs help in Grand Chokmah again," I said.

He blinked a few times. "Now?"

"She's _excited_. I'd say so."

Gnome outright _stared_ , then vanished, his body apparently turning into earth.

I pulled on the miasma and returned exactly where I'd left.

Undine was grinning, even as streams of water rose.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Yeah, Undine originally had blue hair and red eyes, then turned herself into one of her Ferines._

 _She'll be back to the blue/red combo by the Future Arcs, but for now, we've got another blue-eyed blonde running around Grand Chokmah. Like we needed more of those._

 _Also... Apparently Undine is utterly fascinated by architecture. O.o_


	103. Chapter 14-1 Part 103

_And this one brought to you by the interview I kinda coulda done better on earlier. :/_

 _Oh well._

 _Have the first part of Chapter 14!_

 _(I just wanna say, I'm not military, probably never will be military, and this is technically a_ game _we're dealing with here. So... I did my best. Honestly, halfway through the actual ceremony, and Kairi was really, really sick of it, so it got harder and harder to write. I kinda gave up after a bit.)_

 _(Countdown: 3d)_

* * *

" _You are very good at teleporting without actually teleporting. You'll have to teach me that trick sometime." –Reighn_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.1 – Ceremony  
Part 103**

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, even as I pulled my bangs and the upper half of my hair back into a ponytail. The rest was left to hang free, but at least it got everything out of my face.

I turned, eyeing up the tabard more than anything else.

The black pants, black boots, and purple tunic were simple enough, even if I did fall in love with the fact that the tunic bared my shoulders. The tabard... I fell in love with it all over again. Utterly asymmetrical in front, completely symmetrical in the back. I wasn't sure if it was the purple lining or the flame outlines that ran up the sides of the back and the left side of the front that did it.

Either way, it was gorgeous.

I nodded to myself and stepped out of my room, striding down the halls. Sheathed at my side was my standard katana. Normally, I wouldn't wear it, but I'd been told to do so today. So I'd given in.

I made it up to Florian's room without being stopped by anyone, and Florian stepped out, decked out in a longer and somewhat fancier version of the usual robes he wore around as the Fon Master.

Florian blinked at me, then smiled. "York did wonderfully on that tabard," he said. I nodded.

"Indeed he did. Where's..." I stopped as Reighn stepped out, dressed in a new but barely-changed uniform. In fact, the largest change was a design at the bottom edges of the tabard in the front—a design mirrored in my own, save for the color.

I smiled to myself. "So."

"Badaq waiting on us, or...?" Reighn started.

I shook my head. "No, he's just taking his own sweet time. Luke was ready, but then got called away by Lorelei. He's under orders to make it _damn_ fast."

Reighn snorted. "Better. Especially since the two of us are both transferring divisions."

I nodded, arms crossed as we waited for the last of the soon-to-be official God-Generals to show up.

Rialle finally showed when Largo did, not quite running late, but pulling it quite close. And Luke...

Light and a ringing sound heralded Luke teleporting in, over in one of many corners that had been set aside for that use, specifically.

He looked exasperated.

I decided I didn't want to know.

That was one Fon Master, a Commandant, a soon-to-be Adjutant Commandant, a Head of Intelligence, a Head of the Fon Master Guards, and a Chief of Staff.

Special Operations would be handled by the Adjutant Commandant for a while until we could get a sixth God-General back.

"Alright, let's go," I said.

I got five nods in response, and we all stepped onto the warp in formation, myself at point, Florian right behind me, Badaq and Reighn flanking me, and Luke and Rialle flanking Florian. The warp took us straight down to the glyph room, where a number of Oracle Knights saluted.

"At ease."

As one, every soldier in the room assumed parade rest as we stepped off the warp, waiting for Teodoro and a soon-to-be Grand Maestro Tritheim.

It took perhaps ten minutes for them to arrive, and once again, every soldier saluted—myself and my fellow God-Generals included.

"At ease." This time, the order was delivered by Teodoro.

Parade rest would have been more comfortable if my knee weren't sore again.

"If you would release Florian into our care, the Fon Master and Grand Maestro must be named first," Teodoro continued.

I turned to Reighn, then Rialle. As the current Head of the Fon Master Guards and the soon-to-be Head, this was their jurisdiction. It was Rialle to speak.

"Ionian Sergeant Anise Tatlin."

Anise stepped forward out of the ranks surrounding us. "Ma'am!"

Rialle stood straight. "You will escort Florian to the chapel, and ensure that he does not come to harm."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

Teodoro was _barely_ keeping a straight face.

It was rather hilarious. Here was a fourteen-year-old taking orders from an eighteen-year-old who was the same height as her.

Orders to guard a fifteen-year-old in body, at that.

Either way, I stepped to the side, allowing Florian to exit the protective circle the God-Generals had formed around him.

Anise stepped in right behind him to his right, and the four of them left.

I managed to not fidget for about five minutes, before I glanced around, then sat and brought my hands to my right knee, pulling in Energies and once again healing, then fortifying it.

"You gonna be okay to stand through all of this?" Reighn asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Will be..." I paused as I finished, then sighed and pulled out my wing pack, pulling out my knee brace and putting it on. It would show rather obviously, being a dark gray against the black of my pants, but the fact that I needed it at all was something I couldn't fight.

I stood up again once I was done, returning to parade rest and doing my best to keep my weight as far over on my left leg as I could.

Damn difficult when standing like that.

Either way, I was thankful when Teodoro stepped back in.

"Kairi Balfour, we are ready for you now."

I nodded and stepped forward, knee thankfully not even twinging. Yet.

I knew it was going to.

The crowds were somewhat to be expected, but they still set my heart racing. The soldiers, I could put up with. The civilians were going to make me have a panic attack. I hated crowds like these.

There was a reason I outright avoided most ceremonies. Though, I'd gone to Jade and Cantabile's wedding just because Jade was my brother.

I kept the mental image of the courtyard in front of the palace in my mind as I stepped into the chapel. The crowds were almost as bad in here, but thankfully, seating constraints kept most of the civilians either out in the lobby or outside altogether.

I marched up the central aisle at a sedate, steady pace, glancing over Florian and Tritheim. Fon Master and Grand Maestro.

Teodoro led me the whole way, not that it looked like I was being led. I was not some common soldier.

He stepped to the side to flank Florian on the other side, and I stood before the new—and now official—Fon Master and saluted.

"At ease."

I wasn't sure if I loved that order, or hated it.

"You stand before us, prepared to take on the mantle of Commandant of the Oracle Knights," Florian began. "When you joined the Order of Lorelei, you swore an oath to serve and protect Daath. Do you still hold to that oath?"

Which was my cue to recite it once again. I once again allowed myself to find amusement in the fact that much of the military oaths and deliverances in the Order of Lorelei were similar to the US ones... Though, there were differences, many of which came simply from the fact that I was now taking my place as the Commandant.

"I, Kairi Balfour, do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the laws of Daath against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the Fon Master of the Order, according to regulations and the Order of Lorelei Code of Military Justice."

Florian smiled ever so slightly, not enough that anyone would notice. "Kneel before me."

I fought down the urge to wince as I did so.

Knee. Not cooperating today.

"Do you solemnly swear to act upon your best judgment; to stand as an ally to the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei; to preserve the lives of the men and women under your command?"

"I do so swear."

"Do you solemnly swear to uphold the values of the Order of Lorelei; to act as a messenger of her word, and an extension of her will?"

"I do so swear."

"Then stand, Dorian General Kairi Balfour, Commandant of the Oracle Knights of the Order of Lorelei."

I fought down the urge to grin as I got off my protesting knee. Once on my feet, I saluted first Florian, then turned and offered a salute to the chapel at large.

Every Oracle Knight within the chapel returned my salute, and that done, I stepped slightly to the side, so I was directly in front of Tritheim, and a step down from Florian.

Teodoro walked out again, and I fought the urge to fidget. I could get away with that in front of a room full of soldiers. Out here? Not so much.

"Is you knee going to be okay?" Florian asked softly, lips barely moving.

I grunted as quietly as I could. "I'll live."

It didn't take long for Teodoro to return with Reighn and Luke.

The two reached the dais, saluted Florian from a lower level than I'd done, and then stood at attention.

I pointedly turned my head to Florian, received a nod, and stood in front of the two.

"At ease." The two shifted into parade rest. "When you joined the Order of Lorelei, you swore an oath to serve and protect Daath. Do you still hold to that oath?"

I ran through the rest of the ceremony on auto-pilot, grateful that Reighn and Luke could do theirs at once, and that Rialle and Badaq could also be done at once.

It shortened the amount of time I needed to stay on my feet.

By the time it was all over, I surprised none of the people who knew me with the speed I vacated the chapel.

It took an hour for Luke to find me.

"Isn't this the courtyard where you met Asch?" he asked, walking over to join me under the tree. I nodded.

"Yup. He was sitting under this very tree, actually," I mused. I pointed over to a spot near the path that led to the steps in front of the cathedral. "I was sitting over there, singing and sketching... Huh. You know, I think I still have that picture."

Luke chuckled. "So what's going to happen when you and Asch marry?"

I snorted. "Nothing, really. So long as I'm the Commandant of the Order, the only thing marrying Asch is going to do is make any kids we have legitimate. We've already cleaned that up with the council."

"You're not planning to leave the Order for a long while, are you?"

"Nope. What about you? We both know you've got a duchy waiting on you on one side, and a nice bit of land a few miles outside Daath on the other side."

"Huh?"

"Reighn's reclaiming the Aurelius lands, or what's left of them, in Eldrant," I said. "The land he owns outside Daath will be Aerith's, since she's not interested in returning to Hod. She has every intention of remaining in Daath, unless the two of you end up married and she ends up in Kimlasca."

Luke mulled over that for a little while. "I'll probably stay here," he finally said. "Whether I marry Aerith or not. Daath... Daath has become my home far more than Kimlasca ever was."

I smiled. "So, who's going to inherit the duchy?"

"Dark and Natalia?" Luke offered. I laughed a bit.

"Yeah, that would be fitting. Don't think Dark would mind Belkend, anyway. The forests around there are lovely. The ligers would enjoy it, I think, and the monsters there actually make for a challenging hunt. Given the skill level Twilight and Sorylle are at..."

"Did you hear?" Luke asked suddenly.

"Hear what?" I asked.

"Sorylle laid eggs. Three of them. Twilight's got cubs of his own now," Luke replied.

I blinked a few times, then grinned.

That explained why Twilight had been avoiding Sorylle. Carrying Alpha females tended to get really, really rough with their mates before the eggs were laid, apparently.

Twilight and Sorylle had eggs. Cubs.

"Jeez, grin a little wider. Your jaw might fall off yet," Luke teased. I jabbed an elbow in his ribs, and he laughed a bit.

I looked up at the sky and smiled as I spotted something small and black flying around. I couldn't help but hum. The dragonets were taking to the air.

And, from the green and gold blur I could spot dancing around with the dragonet, Sylph was more than happy to help them learn their wings.

I hummed a tune, idly noting that it wasn't a song I was really familiar with. Must have been something I'd noticed Sync humming...

Luke chuckled a bit and stood. "So... Will you be coming in again anytime soon, or shall we call you missing in action?"

I snorted. "My paperwork's done, my promotion is official, and my knee is finally stopping hurting. What do you think?"

Luke laughed. "Just remember that you have to leave in two days."

I smiled. Asch's coronation. Baticul was finally rebuilt enough to hold the official coronation, and there was no way in hell I was going to miss it. As it was, I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't show up.

I sat there for a few more minutes, then stood and turned, looking up at the sunburst crystal, or at least, _towards_ it. There had to be _something_ I could do with that thing... Unless...

Lloyd was on Aselia... And Aselia thrived on _mana_.

I'd tossed Danté to Aselia, so there had to be _some_ way to get Danté and Lloyd over here, even if only for a visit. I crossed my arms as I considered it. There was something to be said for that. And...

I'd twisted Energies into mana before. So if I could come up with some way to make an encasement for the crystal, some way to convert the sixth fonons to mana...

I smiled to myself and headed inside, brain already swimming with diagrams and Energy circles that I knew full well would do the trick. I needed mana in the world if I wanted to see my son in the flesh and not just in the mindscape.

An idea was one thing, and putting the idea into action? That was easy.

As long as I knew what I was doing. Hence the reason I was making a beeline to my quarters. I needed my journal, and that was at my desk, where I'd been writing in it earlier.

I barely made it there before I picked up a blue-haired tail.

"You are _very_ good at teleporting without actually teleporting," Reighn mused. "You'll have to teach me that trick sometime."

I smiled. "Maybe another day. For right now..." I sat at my desk, pulled my journal over, and got to work, sketching out Energy circles as I worked out what I'd need to make my idea work.

"And that is for...?"

"The present Rem kindly left for me."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I don't know when, exactly, Rem's sunburst crystal became a mana generator in my headcanon for Ripples Future Arcs._

 _I do know that it was something that randomly got brought up in one of my mental (and therefore not-set-in-stone) scenes of Lloyd and co. walking through the streets of Daath. I distinctly remember the first mention of it being Lloyd pointing to it and saying to Genis: "Remember you were asking how there's mana in this world, too, even though Danté said the people here need_ fonons _instead? Well... That shining crystal above the cathedral is kinda like this world's mana tree. Mom did that so if she ever figured out how to get me from Aselia to here, I wouldn't die from the lack of mana."_

 _So in reality, it isn't Kairi's idea, but_ Lloyd's _._

 _...Like mother, like son, I guess..._


	104. Chapter 14-2 Part 104

_Myno's Will kinda killed my urges to draw for a while. Like, seriously..._

 _So I've been asking for a while, and no one guessed it, so... The REAL reason I've been doing massive amounts of updating in the last couple of weeks is..._

 _I'm posting the last few Parts of the Main Arcs today, exactly four years after I first posted the rewrite of A Ripple in the Abyss._

 _Yes._

 _That's right._

 _Happy 4_ _th_ _Anniversary, everyone._

 _Two chapters will be going up this morning, the last four—and the new cover, at least—will be going up tonight._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _*Have to do something. Can't seem to tear my eyes away from my fiancé.* –Kairi_

" _Which would explain why the hell Noctus won't stay evil. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the road to heaven must be paved with ill..." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.2 – Ceremony  
Part 104**

I did my damndest not to fidget.

Rialle and I stood to either side of the dais, acting as guards for the Fon Master. Once again, I was trapped in a hall with a massive number of civilians.

Unfortunately, now my brain was hard-wired for the protection of said civilians, so I was idly trying to figure out how the hell I was supposed to get all of them out of here in the event of an attack.

That wasn't the point. Asch. This was for Asch. I needed to _not_ fidget.

I'd gone to rather impressive lengths to heal up my leg enough to be standing on it this morning.

The doors at the far end of the hall finally opened, and I glanced down the large aisle in the center.

Natalia. Striding up the aisle, Dark an ever-present shadow flanking her on her right, and dressed in all the regalia of state.

Dressed in the regalia of state, and wearing a lovely crown. Right. We had to formally announce her abdication before Asch could be coronated.

Hrg...

I went back to figuring out exits and evacuation plans, before it hit me. I'm telepathic.

*Hi.*

*Oh _gods_ , you're bored,* Dark mused. *I mean, not that I blame you, but... hi?*

*It's an improvement on listing off all the exits, the rough estimate of the numbers of soldiers and civilians, the probability of an attack—*

*Okay, I get the point. Good grief. Is this what you always do when you're bored out of your mind?* Dark asked, mentally laughing though his cold façade never once shifted. I smiled a little bit, not enough to be noticed by anyone, but enough to be spotted.

*What's wrong with figuring out a plan of attack should we be attacked?*

*You're going a bit overboard, I think. Also, we've got it handled, trust me,* Dark replied. Natalia's crown was removed, settled off on a pillow to be held onto until it could be returned to the vaults, while she and Dark stepped off to the side.

I glanced at the dais. I was so used to there being _three_ thrones up here. One for the king, one for the late queen, and one for Natalia. Now...

The doors at the end of the hall opened again, and the guards parted to salute. I smiled a bit even as Asch came into view.

Okay, so maybe the regalia looked a bit out of place on him. But... I couldn't help it.

Mine.

And all of the ladies ogling him could stop. He was _mine_.

*Focus,* Dark muttered in my mind.

Oh, whoops. Still connected.

The fact that Dark _didn't_ immediately bust up laughing was a serious point in his favor. I damn near started laughing, myself. I thought it had been funny, at least.

Still. Asch.

Somehow, the fact that he snagged my telepathic field didn't surprise me.

*Why do I get the feeling you two are playing imposing guards while getting a good few laughs where no one can here?* Asch asked.

*Because we are. Also, Kairi's getting possessive,* Dark replied.

I fought down the snort. *And you _wouldn't_? The only thing keeping the men from ogling your girlfriend is the fact that you're standing _right there_. I'm stuck up here with a perfect view of all the googly eyes _my_ fiancé's being shot.*

The faint apprehension that had been in Asch's stance faded almost immediately.

*Kairi? I love you.*

My external expression never changed, but I was smiling internally. *Love you too. Now get up here and get your crown already. Wanna get to the party.*

*Haha. Pest.* Asch pulled out slightly, enough to still feel me and Dark, but not enough to really be listening, should we choose to continue to chat.

We didn't.

Asch knelt in front of Florian as the Fon Master recited the traditional prayer, albeit an edited version to account for the fact that the world no longer followed the Score. I watched, eyes locked on Asch as he rose again, Natalia and his father removing the topmost robe he wore, and then stepped forward.

Asch turned with the same deadly grace I'd come to be so used to on the battlefield, and sat in the lone remaining throne.

I watched, telepathy stretched out to account for the fact that my eyes would not leave Asch.

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the Kingdom of Kimlasca according to the laws and customs thereof?"

Gods, Florian was still so young, and yet sounded just as regal as Solace ever had when the seventh replica felt like throwing around his weight as an official of the Order.

"I solemnly promise to do so."

"Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will."

Now here was the part that was going to be unique to Asch's coronation, we hoped.

"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the new world as the Score is removed from it?"

"This I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep," Asch intoned, voice firm. I fought down the smile.

Not hard to do, as my attention was drawn away from Asch's anointing by... Yup.

*Hey, Dark? Did you bring your guns?*

*Yes, why?*

*Loaded?*

*Duh.*

*Up thirty-six degrees, Asch's one o'clock almost _exactly_.*

Dark's mismatched eyes locked on mine as I showed him, telepathically, right where the would-be-assassin was.

I shot Asch an apologetic look, even as Rialle and Dark shifted.

Rialle moved to stand between Florian and the man _she'd_ just spotted—on her own at that, guess he wasn't hiding as well as he thought—and Dark spun, a gun in hand as he aimed and shot.

A cry of pain precluded a body dropping out of a nook with a loud thump. Screams started up, but within just a moment, the man was captured, still alive, and Alpine and I were already running damage control with the crowds.

I glanced up at Asch and Florian. We'd almost been done, too.

"Shall we continue, Your Majesty?" Dark asked, tucking the gun away after visibly loading a new bullet.

A deterrent for anyone else who might try.

Asch nodded. "Yes. Thank you for your swift neutralization, Colonel."

Dark snapped into a salute, then went back to being the silent guard at Natalia's back, even as Asch's words reached the crowds and everyone began to calm down again.

Rialle and I stepped back into our places, even as I tapped against Rialle's mind.

*Noticed him, I see.*

Rialle shot me a sour look for exactly one second before it was gone again. *Telepathy's cheating.*

*Have to do something. Can't seem to tear my eyes away from my fiancé.*

*Sap,* Dark muttered.

*Was he aiming for me, Natalia, or Florian?* Asch asked as Florian recited another prayer.

*You,* Dark and I confirmed. *Kairi's telepathy caught him just as he got into place,* Dark added. *And _that_ is the entire reason I bothered to train with the guns again. Any chance you might be able to get me into Emperor Peony's wedding?*

*You've already got an invite on the way,* I replied. *Nephry sent me the guest list to make sure she hadn't missed any of us. I'll see if I can't get you a good seat. _This_ is working out beautifully... Hey, is that...*

*Yup. Can't do anything about him from here, though. Damn it...*

I fought down the smirk and reached a little further, finding and tapping against Reighn's mind. He was outside the hall, one of the Oracle Knights left to guard us. He started a bit. *Now what?*

*You heard the gunshot, right?*

*Saw the guy being carried out,* Reighn confirmed. *Why?*

*We've got another would-be skulking around in the courtyard,* I said. *Dark and I are stuck here; mind doing something about him?*

*Gotcha,* Reighn replied, and idle thought about troubles coming in threes passing through his mind.

*Ugh. Don't jinx it, dammit. I'd like the chance to _marry_ my fiancé, thank you.*

Which had Dark snickering mentally, while Asch once again pulled out as he stood again and spread his arms, a gesture symbolic of embracing his People.

I allowed a small smile then, if for no other reason than because now I was allowed to move.

Not that I moved far. I found the wall nearest the dais and leaned against it as the nobility gathered in the hall paid homage to the new king.

"Asch said something about slating the wedding for next summer."

I glanced up at Crimson. He looked a bit stressed, and I smiled and nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"Is there any chance I can talk you into pushing it back another few months?"

I grimaced slightly. "Another year maybe. A few months would put it in winter. While Asch might like the cold, I detest it."

He chuckled a bit. "Two years, then? I just..." He looked over at Asch. "It's not that I don't want to see you married.

"It's been a stressful year, and you've only just lost Suzanne," I murmured. "We agreed to wait to give the both of us time to settle into our positions. I think waiting a little longer won't hurt anything."

He smiled. "Thank you."

I glanced up at him again, offered up another smile, and let my eyes drift over to Asch again, even as I telepathically tracked Reighn catching would-be-assassin number two.

Finally, _finally_ , the entire thing moved outside into the courtyard. Lights were strung up all around the area, there was a band already playing music, and Asch managed to get out of _most_ of the robes he'd been practically swimming in. I couldn't help but snicker a bit as he scowled at the robes he was still wearing when he stepped out of the castle.

Gold glinted out of blood red, black robes lined with the same gold and red. I smiled to myself.

Asch had always argued against the gold... but he'd been handed it again and again. Now, he couldn't really shunt it off on Luke.

It suited him more than it did Luke, anyway. Maybe canonical Asch and Luke were silver and gold, respectively, but the Asch and Luke here...

Something twinged on the edge of my perception, and I nudged Dark, pointing out wanna-be number three.

I didn't think it. I didn't dare.

Asch managed to separate himself from the crowd and stepped up next to me as the party continued, Dark halfway to the would-be assassin already. I smiled as he stood next to me.

"Heh. Bet you didn't expect us to be dressed up like this two years ago."

Asch smiled back. "No. But I can think of worse places to be." The music changed, and he held out a hand. "Am I stepping out of line asking you for a dance?" he asked.

I snorted. "Not in the least. I just wish I were in a dress instead of a tabard."

"It looks amazing on you, though."

"Flatterer."

"Truth," Asch shot back as we danced. "So... Father mentioned something about pushing the wedding back further?"

I nodded. "Yes. Back another year."

"Are you going to be alright with that?"

I smiled, my eyes rising to meet Asch's. "I'd wait a thousand years to marry you, love." Though, at that comment, it took a lot of will not to start humming A Thousand Years.

Asch chuckled a bit. "I know the feeling."

"There's something to be said for knowing that the one you love will never let you out of their sight, isn't there?" I mused as the song ended and I curtsied. It looked a bit odd in the tabard, but...

"It's been almost exactly two years, hasn't it?" Asch asked. I nodded.

"Two months short," I replied.

Asch smiled. "You realize that's..."

"Right around the same time as the final signing of the Accords? Yes," I said. Asch stepped forward for a hug, then walked off, notably refusing to dance with anyone else. I knew, if Natalia asked, he'd say yes. But anyone else in attendance? They were shit out of luck.

That was _my_ fiancé. Just like there was a limited number of men who'd be able to drag _me_ out for a dance.

Especially in the tabard and boots.

I wandered over to a good spot for observation and settled in to watch the proceedings, telepathic field still spread out.

Natalia stepped over to join me. "Don't suppose you know where Dark got off to?"

"Apprehended wanna-be number three. Should be headed back out soon," I replied softly.

"That was... kind of terrifying, earlier. Seeing Dark just... _move_."

"I caught the guy, Dark shot him. We've already agreed we'll do it again for Peony and Nephry's wedding. Anyone who might side with Mohs wants Asch dead because he was not only involved in dissolving the Score, but has been _spearheading_ it. They'd have been after you, too. And at the moment? Peony has no legitimate heir. That one will be Kimlascan dissenters, looking to destabilize Malkuth. And don't try to tell me it won't happen. I helped stop a group of Kimlascan soldiers taking over the Tartarus and starting a war _months_ before Akzeriuth fell," I said.

"The road to peace is _not_ an easy one."

"Just as the road to hell is paved with good intentions." I paused as a stray and utterly random thought crossed my mind. "Which would explain why the hell Noctus won't stay evil. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the road to heaven must be paved with ill..."

Natalia eyed me warily. "Excuse me?"

I shook my head. "One of the trilogies Doppel is working on isn't so much the traditional prequel-sequel-sequel, as it is three alternate universes based on a deviation in a single scene. Version 1 starts the lightest and gets the darkest, Version 2 stays kinda gray the whole way through, and Version 3 starts dark and gets lightest. Mind, even though Version 1 gets dark, Noctus is still very much a good guy at the end of it."

Natalia blinked a few more times, then shook her head. "I don't want to know. I _don't_ want to know."

"Probably not," I agreed.

Dark walked over a moment later, glancing between the two of us. "I missed something."

I smiled. "Don't ask if you don't want to know," I said. "If you do, ask me, because I think it flew right over Natalia's head."

Dark nodded. "Noted." He held out a hand to Natalia. "May I have the next dance?"

Natalia smiled. "I was wondering if you were going to ask..."

I smiled as the two walked off, only for Asch to suddenly appear next to me.

I blinked. "Teleporting?"

Asch smirked. "No, using your tricks." He held out a hand as well. "Shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So. The line about Noctus._

 _As stated above, the Nocturne Trilogy is a bit weird. We're introduced to the Fallen, and then Jazz finds himself in a not-so-nice situation. That scene ends one of three ways depending on which story we're talking about._

 _Nocturne: Original_ _starts off fairly light, all things considered. Noctus realizes almost immediately that Coeus is responsible for the broken Bond between Jazz and Prowl and he lets Jazz go. It picks up again after the war actually starts, and though it gets darker from there (the Fallen is very fond of screwing with one Optimus Prime, the poor mech), Noctus, by the end, is firmly on the side of good._

 _Nocturne: Twisted_ _is a little darker at first. Noctus doesn't realize Coeus is responsible, but he does try to support/take care of Jazz. This one is the one I've been focused on mainly. It starts gray and ends rather gray. There are ups and downs, but not to extremes like the other two._

 _And the third book is as yet unnamed and un-started, but it is firmly in my head. It basically begins with rape, and then ends with a happily ever after._

 _Yeah._

 _So while the line about the road to heaven was not planned, it's certainly fitting._


	105. Chapter 14-3 Part 105

_And here's the second update of the morning. Meant to post these two chapters over the last two days, but... Well. Myno's Will. It killed my everything as far as motivation went._

 _Speaking of which, need to go finish that thing. Thankfully, Havaam's Word and Yda's Hope should both be much easier._

* * *

" _Well. I guess it takes a magpie to raise a magpie." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.3 – Ceremony  
Part 105**

I was meandering. I probably shouldn't have been—Eldrant officially belonged to the Ferines, and therefore, as the Commandant of the Order of Lorelei, I should have been headed places with a purpose...

But I was meandering.

Also, if anyone asked, I did have a somewhat-firm destination in mind.

Thalassa's spring.

And Thalassa called me 'Mema'. So that right there was probably enough to give me the right to meander as I pleased.

Probably, wouldn't swear by it.

I glanced around as I moved. The Malkuth soldiers had done a good job of tearing down the refugee tents and the temporary buildings as they'd left, and all that remained were the replicated ruins of Hod.

Some of these would be rebuilt. Most would simply be allowed to be reclaimed by the plant life.

I stepped past the minor temple where I'd once seen Myre and Selenia talking. Guy was inside, looking around as if a bit lost. I stopped and leaned against the doorway. "Looking for something?"

He jumped a bit and turned, only to relax when he spotted me. I shot him a wry smile, even as he shrugged. "Just... trying to figure out what this place was. A shrine, I know that, but..." He stopped and looked around. "There's nothing in here to imply who or what was worshipped. It's..."

"Intriguing?"

Guy nodded, even as he walked away from the little altar he'd been examining and joined me at the exit. "So, what brought you all the way out here? Pretty sure Tear's in the main temple."

"In truth? I'm just wandering," I admitted. "I guess I've had more on my mind than I realized. Shoving it all out is getting rid of a headache I hadn't even noticed until now."

"It's probably been all of the ceremonies and everything. You and Dark have been doing _damn_ good at keeping the assassins at bay."

I shrugged. "It's not that heavy a telepathic field, and I use one around Daath all the time. Helps if there's a problem somewhere. It's..." I stopped and took a deep breath. "We're kinda pre-testing some of the communication relays, using my telepathy. It's not so much _that_ that's giving me a headache, it's everything else. Trying to remember where I have to be, when I have to be there, what has to be done in Daath over the next few weeks, next few months, next few _years_..." I shrugged. "Just needed to clear my mind, I think."

Guy smiled. "You know, Thalassa's been asking after you."

I snorted. "I'm sure she has. Considering the fact that I just spawned spirit-child number _four_. Mitti's been trying to figure out if she actually wants to have a home, or if she's going to constantly wander. It's vaguely annoying."

Guy chuckled. "Four?"

"Thalassa, she's obviously water. Mitti's the youngest, she's wind-elemental. Then there's Incyn, he's fire-elemental and... oh, how shall I put this... Sync. Except fire-elemental." Guy laughed a bit. "And then there's Aska, who is a sweetheart. I didn't actually mean to name him Aska, either. He's a friggin' bird, and I'm just like, 'huh, you look kinda like Aska from Tales of Symphonia.' And the name stuck. Pest. But he's a sweetheart, really."

Guy grinned. "Yeah, you really are picking up the spirit-kids, aren't you?"

"And the dragonets. All three of the hatchlings Ifrit hatched in front of us, and another three. So I'm up to a grand total of eleven kids now, and one of them is a human boy on another world."

"How _is_ Lloyd, anyway?" Guy asked.

I grinned as we started walking. "He's doing pretty good. Danté finally got back—why he thought going to the Asgard Ranch was a good idea, I don't know, but at least it didn't end badly—and now Danté's decided that keeping up with a five-year-old and his best friend makes for some good exercise," I replied.

Guy chuckled a bit. "You ever tried to keep up with an active five-year-old?"

I shook my head. "I hated kids. Even when I was one. Everyone else was just too... The last thing I wanted to do before landing on Auldrant was go chasing after a kid." I stopped talking for a moment as I smiled. "Kinda changes things, _having_ one now."

Guy smiled back. "So... Aside from wandering, what were you here for?"

"Double –checking the springs, making sure the only people hovering are the ones who will be _staying_ , trying to see if the water spirits will do more than stare and then dart away from me, checking in with Thalassa..." I shrugged. "Just... make-work stuff that keeps me away from my desk in Daath for the time being."

Guy laughed. "I don't think I can really blame you."

"So..." I'd been dilly-dallying on asking this, but... "Myre could not, for the life of her, remember if the Ferines were possibly revived in her timeline or not."

"They weren't."

I blinked a few times and looked over at Guy. He grimaced.

"I... I didn't really want to admit this. You guys were happy to have me back, after all, and with the way you were beating yourself up..." He stopped here and sighed. "When Undine pulled me under... It was... terrifying. Like... drowning, but not. I could breathe, but... I think..." Blue flashed over to me. "I think she'd planned to send me back up. To... to do to me what Gnome had done to Sync."

I bit my lip. "She didn't."

"I asked her _why_. Why was she coming after us, why was she helping Gnome, why did she hate humans? She... she _showed_ me. Like with your telepathy. And I realized that, if the Ferines could have been saved, she wouldn't have turned her rage on us." He stopped and shrugged. "I wished I could have done something. I was suspended in the water, drowning but not... I felt helpless, and hopeless. I wanted to do _something_..."

"And she sent you back in time," I realized.

Guy nodded. "It... hurt. But then it was over so fast... When I woke up, I was on land again. I guess I'd washed ashore, around where Kaitzur is now. Merida found me. She was the Merines at the time. She took me to the Ruins of Werites..." We stopped as we reached Thalassa's spring. She didn't seem to be here at the moment, probably out and about elsewhere, but Silunia, the water dragonet that had taken to calling me 'Mama', stuck her head out of the water for a moment before slipping under again upon spotting Guy.

I looked over at him. "I have to admit to being curious. You don't need to tell me more than you're comfortable with, of course..."

Guy smiled. "No. I need to tell someone other than Noelle," he replied. "Thing is... when we got there... Well. Let's put it this way. I'd already been there for about a year when I ran into Shadow. So that was right about when Kenji and his fellow researchers started poking around... Merida wanted me to stay in the lake, where the Orerines couldn't get to me. Thought for sure if I wandered around on land I'd be taken away and killed."

"Kenji didn't seem at all interested in killing you," I mused. "Makes me wonder if he maybe _knew_. Knew you were his descendant, that is."

Guy shrugged. "Anyway... she asked for my name once she was sure we were safe. I... I don't know _why_. I just got this feeling like I shouldn't be using 'Guy'. And maybe it was intuition, or Undine's meddling, but I went with Lars. She gave me an odd look for that, and... kinda dragged me off through the tunnels that led from the underground lake to the ocean. There was something of a small, hidden altar back there. That was when I found out she was the Merines. She spoke to Undine."

I sat down on the largest boulder and stuck my hand in the water. Silunia butted her head against it, and I idly ran my hand over her scales as Guy continued.

"I didn't really hear the communion, but... When Merida turned back around, she was like a completely different person. Like it wasn't really her there, but Undine, speaking straight through her. And... she gave me my name. My _true_ name."

"Why the Relares equivalent of 'Light of the Sacred Flame?'" I asked. I mean, it was fitting, I supposed, that Luke's brother in all but blood be so similarly named, but...

"Because even for the Ferines, fire is special," Guy replied. He paused here, then slipped into the spring. Silunia darted off again, startled by her sudden company. Guy held his hands together, almost as if praying, and then parted them.

In the water, crystal-clear and flickering lightly, was a golden-orange flame, hovering over Guy's palms. "Merida taught me to do this after she learned my true name. It's apparently a one in ten chance that any Ferines can do it," Guy said after a moment. "This, is felkes."

Holy flame. I smiled. Well, at least that made sense, though I wanted to know how the hell it managed to burn underwater.

"Tear can do it, too," Guy added after a moment. "It's something the Merines has to be able to do. The fire helps keep us warm, even though water is far more inclined to be cold. The light's a symbol of hope."

I couldn't help it. I was grinning.

"Undine was naming you _her_ hope."

"Hope that the Ferines could thrive again. Hope that I'd be able to save them from the fate they'd suffered three thousand years ago." Guy paused here and shot me an amused look. "Ironically, both of Tear's names, given and true, mean 'a light in the darkness.'" He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Okay. Mennesdes actually means 'One who lights up the darkness', but... close enough."

I giggled a bit. "Yeah, definitely close."

"I'm still reeling over you and your 'cursed fire,'" Guy admitted. "Not the sort of a name I'd have expected for you, but..." He shrugged, even as I smiled.

"I think it's fitting. And as I told the group as we walked away—anyone stuck with Kade's blessings, aka me and Asch, is probably also going to get that 'he' rune in there," I said.

"True," Guy mused, letting the felkes fade as he floated around. Silunia darted well around him and rejoined me over next to my boulder. I giggled a bit at the slightly affronted look on Guy's face, even as I tapped her telepathically.

*Mama?*

*It's alright, sweetie. The Ferines aren't dangerous,* I reassured her. *See how his hair glows blue when he's in the water?*

Silunia stared for a moment. I knew she could see in color. More colors than I could see in, really.

She hummed a bit, not really wanting to go over to him. I patted her head. *It's okay. Promise.*

Guy slipped underwater, headed for the bottom of the pool. I don't know what he'd spotted, or if he was just up to sitting around on the bottom of the spring, but the fact that he seemed capable of staying underwater for so long seemed to relax Silunia some.

*The Ferines are the people of the water,* I said softly. *Go on.*

She swam away from me slowly, twirling around in the water a bit before she finally shifted, moving down toward him. Guy glanced at her, but didn't move.

I watched the two of them idly, even as glowing peach drew my attention away slightly. Thalassa was home...

She darted across the surface of the water, the silver glow turning a soft golden in her wake for a few moments before she floated in front of me. "Good morning, Mema!"

I smiled. "Good morning, Thalassa."

Thalassa danced around my shoulders as I looked down at Guy and Silunia again. I crossed my arms. Looked like Silunia was finally starting to relax around Guy.

"Hey, Mema, guess what I did today!" Thalassa started.

I looked up at her. "What did you do?"

"I went all the way out to the Tataroo Valley village by myself!" Thalassa said. Then she stopped and looked a bit sad. "Melfes is mean, though."

I blinked a few times. "Melfes?"

"She's the spirit in the lake above Tataroo Valley. Nerifes says she's just cranky because she was asleep while Nerifes was sealed, but..."

I sighed a bit and glanced at Guy, who was just resurfacing after finally getting Silunia to at least come close enough to be petted. "And Nerifes is the Ferines name for Undine."

"You know that because..."

"Legendia."

Guy rolled his eyes. "Why did I bother asking?"

Thalassa and I giggled, but I chose not to speak up again, instead stretching and glancing around. "Hey, Guy? Any chance you could turn around and not look for a few minutes?"

"Swimsuit?" he guessed.

"Swimsuit," I confirmed, pulling my wing pack out. Guy dove again, pointedly keeping his back turned to me. Thalassa made a crooning noise as she darted out over the water again, and by the time I'd gotten changed, it looked like Silunia realized what I was up to now, too.

I took a running leap and managed to splash into the spring just past Guy's head, not that I fell in far enough to have hit him, anyway. That was the nice thing about the spring being so deep.

Silunia darted toward me, bumped into my side, and took off for the far side of the spring.

I was already headed that direction, even as I returned to the surface for the air I needed to breath.

Thalassa skipped along the surface next to me, and Guy, more than willing to show off, swam around below water, beating me to the other side, but not quite managing to catch Silunia when the water dragon darted off again.

I laughed at the game and continued chasing the dragonet for a little while, before Silunia paused and made a mad dash for the bottom of the pool. I paused and gave her a look. She knew full well I couldn't get down there.

But then she was coming right back up, something grasped in the claws of one of her front paws. She held it out to me just after coming to the surface, and I held my hand out to accept it... whatever it was.

'It' turned out to be shiny. And blue. And utterly caked in mud.

It took me a few minutes to get most of the mud cleared. Once it was gone, I had to smile. Blue crystal. Pretty little thing.

Silunia chirred, sounding pleased with herself, and I giggled. "Well. I guess it takes a magpie to raise a magpie," I teased. She darted off to go back to her game with Guy, while I headed back to shore.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _Kairi is referring to her habit of picking up anything shiny she sees at the end there. It's usually nothing valuable, but if it's shiny, hey. Why not pick it up anyway?_

 _This is actually something_ I _do regularly. In fact, I did it just a few days ago._

 _My boyfriend and I were at the edge of the lake, I saw something shiny in the water, picked it up..._

 _It turned out to be a piece of glass, like from a bottle, so it got tossed, but still._


	106. Chapter 14-4 Part 106

_This chapter did NOT want to be written. However, a couple of really important things happen here, so... It had to happen. -shrugs-_

 _Moving on... I'd intended to have a whole bunch of stuff prepped to give you guys to celebrate the 4_ _th_ _anniversary._

 _1) The remaining chapters of AEtT.  
2) The second Tataroo Valley scene (new cover).  
3) More CR chapters and/or Reighn's part of Echoing Ripples.  
4) The Six Successors Concept Compilation (which includes their outfits for the Future Arcs and their Monolith Weapons)._

 _Of these four, you guys have gotten two of them on time, and you'll be getting number 4 down there just as soon as I can get Havaam's Word and Yda's Hope done. I'm kinda being slow about it; I think the whole thing with my keyboard not cooperating when I use my tablet keeps getting me down. (That said, I've got Havaam's Word at least sketched now, so... -shrugs-)  
_

 _The third, you will probably not get until sometime in November or something._

* * *

" _All I remember of the supposed 'past week' is doing data entry of crash reports and dealing with the insanity that is Shandon and Nathan in close proximity to each other." –Kairi_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.4 – Ceremony  
Part 106**

Urushi was grinning, I was in a dress, there was a guitar case hidden in the corner, everyone in the room seemed familiar, and Sync was giving me a worried look.

Ah. Must be Noir's wedding I'd just zoned out of.

I shook my head and tried to straighten everything out.

"Kairi?"

I blinked at Sync. "Gimme a sec, ah... Not sure what Doppel just... oh." I shook my head again, and then closed my eyes, mentally 'flexing' my spiritual self.

"What did Doppel do?"

"Found a spirit Energy and sent it along to where it belonged. Unfortunately, that's... effectively scrambled my brain," I replied. "Noir's wedding, right? And... Reception. Ugh... Brain. Cooperate."

Sync snorted. "If that worked, I don't think Gnome would have been _able_ to control me."

I rolled my eyes. "Smartass."

Urushi walked over. "They're ready. You?"

I blinked up at him for a minute. What?

"Kairi's doppelganger scrambled her brain," Sync said for me. "You're supposed to be singing _A Thousand Years_ for Noir and York, remember?"

...No, I didn't, but I was grateful for the reminder.

"Assume I'm having patchy amnesia, okay?" I replied. "And please _gods_ tell me I'm not supposed to be _playing_ it."

"Nah, jus' singin'. You don't remember the three-hour practice session two days ago?" Urushi asked.

I shook my head. "I don't remember anything from the past week. Not from _this_ world, at least. All I remember of the supposed 'past week' is doing data entry of crash reports and dealing with the insanity that is Shandon and Nathan in close proximity to each other."

Sync snickered. "So Doppel accidentally swapped her memories with yours, then?"

I took a deep breath. "Overlaid. I'll get them back, it'll just take me a few hours," I said. "As long as I'm just singing, I'll be fine," I added. "Now?"

"If ya need a few more minutes, I don't think Noir'll mind too bad."

I smiled a bit, knowing full well why he said that. Noir was probably rather a bit more interested in her now-husband than in the party. Still...

"I'm good. The major disorientation's gone now."

Urushi nodded and wandered off, and I stood and headed over toward the piano. Urushi would be sitting on the bench soon enough...

Asch was giving me a worried look as I stood there, and he tapped against a temple. I reluctantly opened a telepathic channel.

*I'm _fine_.*

*That didn't look like fine, Kairi,* he shot back.

*That was Doppel sending me an unexpected present. I'm a little disoriented, still trying to dig up _my_ memories of the last week from where she buried them under _her_ memories of the last week, but I'm fine,* I told him. *Now shush. I need to sing, and then play that lovely guitar Natalia bought me.*

Asch half-scowled at me, but the cheers of the people of Nam Cobanda had both of us looking over toward the entrance to the tent, where York and Noir were walking in. I grinned. Had to give Peony credit. He'd done well with Cantabile's dress, but Noir's was absolutely gorgeous. Which kinda made me wonder...

Despite my own attempts at avoiding using my telepathy tonight, I tapped against Peony's mind. He glanced over at me curiously. *Yes?*

*Any chance I might talk you into doing my wedding dress, too?*

*I'm guessing you've got something in mind.*

*And from those tones, you do too. We'll need to put our heads together, but we've got time. Couple years before Asch and I tie the knot. Hooray for politics, right?*

He chuckled a bit and pulled away, sensing that I was done with the conversation already. Good man, really.

Urushi followed behind them some, heading for the piano, and I smiled at him even as a vague memory of the practice session he'd mentioned before started to be unburied.

He took up the mic and tapped it a few times to get everyone's attention. "Alright, baby girl. I know ya want off ya feet. Ya got one more thing to do before then, though," he said, grinning even as Noir snorted at him. I smiled a bit myself as York led Noir to the center of the dance floor.

We had two songs to get through before the music _really_ started, and I hummed a bit to myself as Urushi handed me the mic and sat at the bench.

This song would be me and the father of the bride.

Second one would be me (younger sister of the had-been groom) and the son of the had-been bride.

The familiar chords had me swaying a little bit as Urushi started, and Asch blinked a few times when he realized it was literally just me and Urushi.

" _Heart... beats.. fast, colors and promises... How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid... to... fall..."_ I couldn't help but look over at Asch. _"But watching you stand... a~lone, all of doubt... suddenly goes away somehow..."_

Asch smiled back, and I couldn't help but get lost in the memories, even as I kept singing. To do so was automatic, as it was, too many years a habit from drawing and singing as I went.

 _I paused when I reached a small courtyard, hidden away from public eyes behind the cathedral. It wasn't the peacefulness that made me pause though. It was the redhead that was sitting up against a tree, looking for all the world like someone had just drowned his goldfish._

 _I couldn't help but stop and stare, before an itch in my fingers caught my attention and resulted in me sitting down there and then to pull out my sketchbook. I drew out a rough outline quickly, then started in on this detail and that until I was pleased with the result._

 _Then I started shading it in._

 _I was completely lost in my artwork, singing softly to myself, when his voice rang out across the courtyard._

" _I wasn't aware that they had opened this area to the public."_

I was aware that my smile was not even focused on Noir and York anymore, but from the smiles I could see them wearing out of the corners of my eyes, I don't think they cared much.

" _Time stands still, beauty and all she is... I will be brave, I will not let anything take... a~way... what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this..."_

Asch ducked his head a bit as I hit the chorus again, and I had a feeling he knew just how much I really felt the lyrics, because I knew... he felt the same way.

" _Remember what I told Natalia, about how we should change Kimlasca?"_

 _I hummed and nodded._

" _I've realized since then... War makes peace all the sweeter. The poor, who have no money, love each other all the more because each other is all they have." Asch paused. "War will happen. Poverty will strike people regardless of what we can accomplish in our lives."_

" _It doesn't mean we can't do anything to help."_

 _Asch chuckled. "True... Sometimes, what a forest really needs is a fire. Something to clear out the underbrush, everything that's trying to choke out the life on the forest floor." He paused, and I felt him slip something into my hand. "I lost the will to burn a long time ago, and my flame's gone out. But yours burns more brightly than any I've seen before."_

 _I felt my heart jump a bit and glanced down at my hand, still with Asch's wrapped around it. His shifted, and I turned mine palm-up to look at the silver ring that sat in the middle of it._

" _It's only a promise ring," Asch said softly. "But I've had it on order for a few weeks now..."_

 _I smiled and shifted it, spotting the blue stone in the simple silver band._

 _Then I saw the glint off an inscription, and smiled when I recognized my runes._

'Two worlds. One love.'

I mouthed an 'I love you' during an instrumental break, and wasn't surprised when I got one back. I wanted so bad to be the one dancing right now, be in Asch's arms, but for now...

" _I have died every day waiting for you~ Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years... I'll love you for a thousand more~"_ I actually managed to look over at Noir and York for a moment.

Hehe... Did Asch and I look like that when we were dancing?

" _And all along I believed I would find you... Time has brought your heart to me~ I have loved you for a thousand years... I'll love you for a thousand more~"_

I took a half-step back as Urushi finished the last few chords, and the clapping began. Noir and York smiled at me, both looking as happy as could be, and I smiled back, feeling my own pleasure with a job fairly well done.

I say fairly, because to be honest, one of these days, I'd be able to stop staring at Asch.

One day.

Maybe.

Asch chuckled a bit as my eyes drifted over to him again, before they drifted to the corner.

My guitar. My baby. I'd tuned it earlier—thankfully, my memories of the last week were starting to clear up—so it was just waiting for me to pull it out.

I handed the mic off to Urushi so he could congratulate his daughter again, and then he handed it back to me. "Before we open the dance floor up for everyone... Unfortunately, a bit of familial plotting was spoiled by politics and a state wedding—" Which had most of the pavilion chuckling. "And Noir has graciously agreed to let us play the song we'd _intended_ to play for Jade and Cantabile's first dance tonight. And I know neither of you ladies especially wants to be on your feet at the moment—"

"Oh fuck that!" Cantabile yelled, getting to her feet with a grin and dragging an exasperated Jade behind her.

I laughed a bit at the action. Cantabile lived to prove everyone wrong, I think.

Sync got up a bit reluctantly and walked over, and I smiled and messed up his hair. "Relax, kiddo. You did fine a couple days ago."

"Yeah, but..."

"Focus on your mom, 'k? Or Selenia, I suppose. Just don't overthink."

Sync blinked up at me for a moment and nodded, even as I handed him the mic and headed over to get my guitar. Urushi had found a stool for me and settled it next to the piano, and Sync was doing his best not to fidget.

I strummed a couple chords, put the capo on so it would sound right, strummed a few more, and shot an encouraging smile up at Sync before starting.

It was an easy chord progression. Gs, Cs, Ds, and the occasional Dsus that had been messing me up when I'd first tried to learn it.

Either way, Sync took up the verse with the same confidence he'd displayed in the practice sessions.

" _We were sitting up there on your mama's roof, talkin' 'bout everything under the moon~ With the smell of honeysuckle, and your perfume, all I could think about was my next move~"_ Jade shot us an odd glance, even as Cantabile started to grin. Well. I think _someone_ knew where this was going.

" _Oh but you were so shy, so was I, and maybe that's why it was so hard to believe... when you smiled and said to me... 'Are you gonna kiss me or not?'"_

The look on Jade's face was priceless. Shock, awe, and past all of it, that knowing glint in his eyes. He knew I'd overheard his proposal. It was the only way I could have known and been plotting in advance, after all.

" _Are we gonna do this or what? I think you know I like you a lot, but you're 'bout to miss your shot~ Are you gonna kiss me or not?"_

Jade was smiling right along with Cantabile now, even as I kept playing, grateful for the long practice session now. Doppel's body might have gotten used to this, but previously? This body hadn't.

" _It was the best dang kiss that I ever had, except for that long one after that and I knew if I wanted this thing to last, sooner or later I'd have to ask... for your hand, so I took a chance, bought a wedding band and I got down on one knee... and you smiled as said to me~"_

Jade and Cantabile both mouthed the next line, and I heard Cantabile's giggles even over my guitar. The song was perfect, and I think they'd both realized it by now. Maybe not the absolute best for dancing, but Jade certainly didn't seem to be having any problems, even as Sync glanced over at me, grinning like a little hellion.

" _So we planned it all out for the middle of June, from the wedding cake, to the honeymoon, and your mama cried when you walked down the aisle~ When the preacher-man said, say 'I do,' I did, and you did too~ Then I lifted that veil... and saw your pretty smile. And I said... Are you gonna kiss me or not?"_

I smiled as Jade shot me another look. This one, though... was gratitude.

" _Look at all the love that we got, it ain't ever gonna stop~ Are you gonna kiss me or not? Yeah baby I love you a lot, I really think we've got a shot, are you gonna kiss me or not~"_

I glanced at Sync just in time to see his eyes shift away from Selenia, and grinned a bit even as I played the last chord, letting it fade out even as Jade and Cantabile kissed and the clapping started up again.

I couldn't help the grin. It was all too perfect, really... The band started playing then, and though Jade looked like he'd rather leave the dance floor, Cantabile dragged him into a second one, even as York and Noir joined them as well.

I took the time to put the mic back on the piano where it had been sitting before, and slipped around the edges of the pavilion to put my guitar away.

Asch managed to catch up to me, arms snaking around my middle as I finished latching the case and stood. "How much am I going to have to bribe you to get you to sing at our wedding?"

I shifted, spinning in place so I could get my arms around his neck. "I assume the less formal one we'll be having at Tataroo Valley, and not the state wedding." Asch raised an eyebrow at me, like he was questioning why I'd even bothered asking.

I grinned back. "Darlin'~" I drawled. "I don't know why ya felt ya had to ask."

Asch chuckled.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _So Jade and Cantabile finally got to dance to the song that will now ALWAYS make me think of them. :D_

 _Here's the actual fun fact-_ Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not? _was NOT the original song I had slated for these two. In fact, the original song was_ Savin' Me _by Nickelback._

 _I think the new song fits them SO much better, don't you?_

 _On another note, don't ask me why_ A Thousand Years _got pulled into this. I don't even... -shakes head and moves on to the next chapter-_


	107. Chapter 14-5 Part 107

_Speaking of chapters that did not want to be written... The second half went easily. The first half? Oh no._

 _Like pulling_ teeth _._

 _Fitting, given who's being born._

* * *

" _Healthy, nursing, and sure to be terrorizing all of us in a few years, once he's big enough for Cantabile to corrupt properly." –Kairi_

" _You... are a quintessant. You defy the natural laws of time and space. That is not something I can really do anything about." –Nanalie_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.5 – Ceremony  
Part 107**

It was too early.

That was the first thing that hit me when Shadow suddenly showed up and grabbed me, dumping me in a hospital in Grand Chokmah.

Cantabile wasn't due for _weeks_ yet.

It was too early.

So instead of being annoyed, going back to Daath, and getting a datapad like I normally would have, I was pacing.

My pacing was _not_ doing anything for the nerves of the other people in the waiting room with me.

Peony. Nephry. The two were due to be married in another month, and I got the suspicion that it was to keep people from noticing that Nephry would be giving birth in nine.

Well, I guess that was assuming that they even realized. Given the fact that I'd just seen Nephry last week and she _hadn't_ been carrying around that extra bundle of Energies...

Energies.

I froze and slipped half onto the second plane, glancing at the Energy flows, and focusing primarily on the Energy Cores in the next room.

One pink glow—that was Jade. One duller pink glow—that was Cantabile.

A little more focus had my stomach sinking.

The baby didn't have a spirit Energy, and none of Cantabile's looked interested in possibly fixing the problem.

This was a large part of why I was always grabbing any spirit Energies I could find. I'd need them if my baby couldn't find a spirit Energy of its own. And why had Doppel had to send me the one she'd found? She'd need it in case this happened with any of _her_ kids...

Except.

I'd gone back to pacing again, but hadn't made it far before I froze.

That new spirit Energy still wouldn't settle right, and now I knew why.

Doppel had sent it, not for me, but for the little boy being born right now. How she'd known, I wasn't sure, but...

"He's not gonna make it, is he?" Sync asked.

I glanced over at him. "What?"

"He _still_ doesn't have a spirit Energy."

I blinked a few times.

Sync and Doppel were isofons.

Sync had known when I hadn't.

"I need to get in there," I muttered, already turning to scowl at the door. Locked, dammit...

Shadow frowned. "Don't you _dare—_ "

"Then you do it," I shot back. "But I'm sure as hell not staying out here when that kid needs the extra spirit Energy Doppel sent me a couple weeks back."

All eyes were on Shadow now, and he grunted.

With a yelp of surprise, I dropped through my own shadow and reappeared near Jade, who jumped a bit even as the two healers both started throwing a fit.

I paid them no attention, more preoccupied with the little, blue-wrapped bundle that was breathing, but _not_ crying. "Give him to me," I ordered, voice soft, holding my arms out for the baby.

"Kairi..."

"He doesn't have a spirit Energy Jade, he'll _die_ if I can't transfer the extra Doppel sent me!"

The look Jade shot the healer had the little boy in my arms almost immediately, and I pulled on my spirit Energies, and especially that loose one.

Gaining a spirit Energy felt like a burst of adrenaline.

Losing one felt like a punch to the gut.

But this one, I lost gladly, because within a minute, I had a loudly-wailing nephew in my arms, who was not at _all_ pleased about the emotional state I'd been in, and all that I could do was smile and feel relief.

"You better not have teleported _yourself_ in here," Cantabile grumbled tiredly even as I stepped over to her, running a hand over the dark fuzz on Amethyst's head.

"Threatened to," I admitted. "Shadow saw sense before I had to."

"How..." one of the healers started. I carefully handed little Amethyst off to Jade, and turned to look at them.

"We call it SIDS on Earth. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Scientists haven't found the real cause yet, but anyone familiar with Energies knows the truth. Everything needs at least one spirit Energy to live, and if an infant doesn't have that spirit Energy, they die within about a year. Sometimes more, sometimes less. A lot of stillborns are also cases of a lack of spirit Energy," I said. "Sync and my doppelganger back on Earth are isofons, and Doppel is apparently learning the art of omniscience, so... Somehow, Doppel realized Amethyst didn't have a spirit Energy. She sent me an extra she'd found. I knew something was off when it wouldn't integrate right. Didn't realize she'd actually sent it for my nephew until Sync mentioned he'd realized it a while ago."

The healers glanced at each other. "Is there any way to prevent it?"

I sighed and glanced at Cantabile. "It's a spiritual problem, not a physical one. As it is, Jade needs to get Cantabile up to speed on Energy manipulation. If she's had one with this problem, it greatly raises the chances it will happen again," I said. Then I crossed my arms. "During the birth, the infant's Energy Core, if it's lacking a spirit Energy of its own, will make a desperate bid for one of its mother's. Most adults have at least three, though the average on Auldrant seems to sit closer to five. Losing one won't kill us, but try telling your soul that. We've already seen what happens when a sentience splits their soul."

"Was that what that tugging feeling was?" Cantabile murmured. I nodded.

"I don't blame you for tugging back. If I'd realized Amethyst didn't have a spirit Energy yet, I'd have spoken up before. But if you're planning on giving birth again and feel it a second time, _shove_ back, don't pull. I don't think Doppel will be able to find another free-floating spirit Energy like she did this time. They're a lot harder to find on Earth," I said.

Cantabile nodded idly, eye locked on her son, and I smiled and shifted, intending to leave.

"Kairi."

I paused and glanced back.

"Will you be his godmother?" Jade asked.

I smiled and nodded. "You even had to ask?"

The healers seemed just as amused as I was as we left, the two of them glancing at me. I nodded, and they walked off.

"Amethyst?" Sync asked.

"Healthy, nursing, and sure to be terrorizing all of us in a few years, once he's big enough for Cantabile to corrupt properly."

The laughter that filled the room was relieved and cheerful, and I grinned a bit myself.

My nephew. Godson.

Hm.

"I think I'm going to head back to Daath. Shadow did pull me away from a mass of paperwork I was trying to get finished, and I would like to get some sleep tonight. As it was about nine p.m. when he dragged me off," I said.

Shadow winced. "Sorry."

I snorted. "Thanks for getting me inside. Don't you all be crowding them now, alright?"

And with that, I pulled up the miasma and went back to Daath, scowling at the paperwork on my desk and the clock that read 01:00 AM.

"Hate you," I muttered, flopping in my bed and closing my eyes.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

 _I opened my eyes and blinked a few times._

 _TimeStream._

 _I got to my feet and headed off, looking around the space. I figured Lloyd must be here, again. Hehe... silly boy._

 _I spotted the brown hair as I approached the usual lake we ended up by, and noticed that he had his homework spread across the ground in front of him. I blinked a few times._

" _You know that's not actually going to be done when you wake up in the morning," I said._

 _Lloyd looked up at me. "But I don't understand it, and Dad can't really explain it, and Uncle Danté left again."_

 _Ah. Yeah, that would explain it._

 _I sat next to him. More math. Lloyd had taken to my science lessons with a startling ease, and to the language lessons—if the Clan registers were marking him as a Clan member, he'd need to know the Clan dialect—and while he wasn't really enjoying the etiquette I was trying to teach him, he at least understood that it might come in handy later._

 _So I settled down to help him with his homework._

 _We spent at least an hour each night in the TimeStream. It was a simple arrangement, really. With the way the TimeStream tended to stretch time out, it gave us seemingly_ hours _together, and I looked forward to the time shared, usually._

" _How long have you been here?" I asked after a while._

 _Lloyd looked up at me with eyes that looked older than his five years. Not too much older, but... older. "A while. I left for a bit and fell asleep, but I came back when I woke up again."_

 _I smiled and pulled him close. "Good. I know I was late tonight."_

" _Why?"_

" _You have a cousin now," I said. "His name is Amethyst Balfour, and he scared all of us. Came into the world too soon and without a spirit Energy."_

 _Lloyd blinked a few times. "What's a spirit Energy?"_

 _I hummed, and waved my hand through the air. The interesting thing about the TimeStream was, it didn't really exist on one of the planes. So normally, Energies wouldn't, either. It wasn't a mindscape, either, and yet..._

 _And yet._

 _I could draw my hand through the air and leave a trail of glowing Energies behind._

 _So once Lloyd at least understood his homework, I set to work teaching him Energies, starting first with the four elemental Energies, and then showing him the differences between those and the sun and moon Energies. The spirit Energies came last, and even as I forcibly held one of mine just on the surface of my skin, and Lloyd held a hand over it, I could feel them coming up on us._

 _We were no longer alone, and I didn't recognize the newcomers._

 _Lloyd looked up at me. "It feels... warm."_

 _I smiled and nodded._

" _I felt something like this before I met you the first time," Lloyd said. "It was all warm, like a rush of energy."_

 _I nodded. "That would have been you finding a spirit Energy, Lloyd," I said. "And once a spirit Energy is found and claimed, it is_ yours _."_

 _I pulled Lloyd into my lap and glanced around. I still didn't_ see _anyone, but I knew someone was coming. Best to be ready to send Lloyd back the way he came as quickly as possible._

 _And then they crested the hill. A girl with wavy brown hair and sharp violet eyes, and a mechanical bear built so perfectly... Just like Eraia._

 _Another Clockwork Creature. And for it to be following that girl around the way it was..._

 _Recognition flared within my mind._

" _Nanalie. Koga."_

 _Nanalie froze, eyes locked on mine. She recognized me as well... but as what, I didn't know. Nor was I sure I wanted to know._

 _Koga ambled over slowly, ever so gentle, and nosed at Lloyd, who initially shrank into me, but then reached out a hand to pet the metal bear._

" _Then the two of you are the ones blurring the lines of world order," Nanalie murmured, walking over. She crossed her arms, watching Lloyd petting Koga even as I watched_ her _._

 _World order._

 _Crap._

" _You can't force us to simply part," I said. Lloyd's near-constant presence in the TimeStream told me that the spirit Energy the boy remembered getting had more than likely granted him a Talent. And he was_ my son _now. I would_ not _release him._

 _Nanalie sighed. "I can't. You alone are skilled enough to get around any blocks I might place, and_ he _..." she trailed off, half-scowling at Lloyd for a moment before her face shifted back to a neutral expression. "But how to stop the lines from blurring..."_

" _You didn't come after me when I first landed on Auldrant," I said. Then, remembering something... "Nor did you come after me when it became common knowledge that I wasn't born there. As I recall, you were looking for_ Myre _, who had torn apart the timeline."_

 _Nanalie blinked at me, then shrugged. "You," she started, "are a quintessant. You defy the natural laws of time and space. That is not something I can really do anything about. If I were to send you back to your home, back to your doppelganger, yes, the two of you would fuse again, but you would more than likely travel like this a second time, or I suppose third. And that's assuming you end up on Auldrant again. Sending you back could well result in your next travel being to another world altogether," she admitted._

 _I watched as she continued to look between me and Lloyd._

" _There must be_ some _way..."_

" _Danté traveled," I blurted._

 _Nanalie blinked a few times, then settled for staring at me. "Who?"_

" _Danté Daemione."_

" _He had direct contact with you, didn't he?" Nanalie asked. I nodded. "That would explain it. You've basically given him your own immunity."_

 _I frowned and glanced down at Lloyd._

" _Physical contact, spiritual, not just mental," Nanalie explained. "The mental contact only is what's blurring the lines, at least on his end."_

" _So how do we stop it without taking Demetri's idea of a path?"_

 _Nanalie crossed her arms. "Definitely a quintessant. You shouldn't know about him," she muttered. "To answer the question, I don't know. Memory suppression? But then if you two are meeting regularly, you'd have to do it_ every _time he left."_

" _Not necessarily," I replied as Lloyd looked up at Nanalie, seeming to realize that it was_ his _memories we were talking about. "If I keyed it to the TimeStream..."_

"Can _you?"_

" _I don't wanna forget!" Lloyd piped up._

 _I smiled and hugged him. "I know, sweetie. That's why we're trying to figure this out."_

 _Koga growl-hummed and shook himself a bit, the rattling 'fur' sounding almost like bells, and drawing Lloyd's attention back to the bear again._

" _Koga says keying it to the TimeStream would work. Make it so that what happens_ in _the TimeStream stays in the TimeStream," Nanalie said._

 _I hummed. But that would render all of my lessons useless to Lloyd in the real world... unless..._

" _Lloyd, sweetie?"_

" _Yeah, mom?"_

" _Close your eyes," I instructed softly. Lloyd blinked a few times before he did so, and I closed mine as well, curling around him and_ feeling _._

 _The TimeStream was not a mindscape. But when necessary, it would act as one... and that gave me the power to lock away Lloyd's memories of this place, hide them in his subconscious until he either desperately needed them... or until the conditions had been fulfilled, and I could remove this barrier._

 _Nanalie was smiling when I opened my eyes again, even as a confused Lloyd looked up at me. He'd felt it, but he didn't know what_ it _was, yet._

" _That'll do," Nanalie mused._

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _And herein we find the reason why Book 2 of the Lights Trilogy is going to happen the way it does. Also a_ large _part of why Lights!Lloyd is so good at confusing the shit outta Lights!Zelos. Which is a good thing, because otherwise, Danté would have to rely on scaring the shit outta Lights!Zelos, and that doesn't tend to work very long on ANY Zelos._

 _So, yeah. Nanalie forced Kairi to suppress Lloyd's memories, and Kairi's managed to finagle around it just enough that we'll still see plenty of her influence on Lloyd in the Lights Trilogy._

 _Also, I'm going to say this right now, because I know I have a few reader/reviewers who always seem to pull the single least important bit of info out to question me on._

 _Quintessants are NOT IMPORTANT._

 _Not for the Ripples/Lights/Roses series, at least. They're mildly important based on which book we're looking at in Guardians-verse, but this is well and truly pre-Guardians-verse, so all you need to know is this:_

 _People like Kairi give the Time Chasers (like Nanalie) a massive headache. (And what's new about Kairi giving people headaches? Absolutely nothing! XD)_


	108. Chapter 14-6 Part 108

_So, I mentioned the Lights Trilogy a LOT last chapter in the Fun Fact._

 _I suppose now would be a good time to mention that the first Part of Book 1, A Dying Light, will be going up on December 1_ _st_ _. Reminder to everyone who's forgotten or hasn't realized it yet: the Lights Trilogy will be happening in the Tales of Symphonia fandom. (Mostly. Save for a relatively short x-over section near the end of Book 3.)_

 _I'm hoping to get ADL fully drafted by mid-September, and then spend October editing my ass off before NaNoWriMo hits._

 _So yeah, might want to keep an eye out for that._

 _Keep an eye on my profile for updates, I'll be tearing it apart and completely redoing it... Probably sometime tonight, admittedly._

 _In the meantime, enjoy!_

* * *

" _So how much corner-cutting can we get away with doing?" –Jade_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.6 – Ceremony  
Part 108**

I stepped through the streets of Yulia City, glancing around and smiling to myself. The bustling streets were a far cry from their usual near-abandoned state, and though I knew a lot of these people would be leaving again shortly enough, most of them were either citizens of Yulia City, or the Ferines who lived below the city.

I grinned every time I saw the Ferines, even as a more familiar outfit and hairstyle drew my eyes.

Tear. So where was... ah.

Guy stood behind and to her right, and his eyes caught on mine, even as I walked around the festival that had been set up here.

It was rare for Daath to host festivals, but at the moment, there was a party going on in _every_ country on Auldrant. Yulia City, Belkend, St. Binah, Eldrant, Fandral.

The worst of it was over, and from the parties that had been arranged and the sheer masses of people currently in Yulia City, I'd have said the parties were to celebrate _that_.

Sadly, the event they were really supposed to be celebrating hadn't _quite_ happened yet.

Guy and Tear walked over to me, apparently taking my stopping as an invitation. It sort of was, but then, I wasn't really getting anywhere in particular, anyway.

I grinned and crossed my arms. "Good morning."

Tear smiled back. "Good morning. You're in a good mood."

I nodded and looked up, pointing to a barely-visible aerial. "Last one just locked in place this morning. The entire system's been booted up. Shadow, Ifrit, Gnome, Undine, Sylph, and Lorelei are currently teleporting all over the world to test signal strengths for me, but given that I've got a signal from the cathedral in Daath and the nearest aerial is _miles_ east of me?" I replied, grin still on my face.

"That one over southern Meggiora finally settled?" Guy asked. I nodded.

"Yup. That's the one. Oh!" I stopped as I remembered the other reason I was so pleased. "And Barst got the metal encasings for Rem's sunburst crystal done last night, too. Now I'm just waiting for the glassworker to finish _that_ part, and I can go put it all together."

"You actually figured out something to use that thing for?"

I turned, blinked, and smiled.

Sync looked a bit weird in a Malkuth uniform. Really. But it still made me smile when I saw it.

"Yup. I figured, if I could get Danté to Aselia, sooner or later, I'll figure out how to get him—and Lloyd—back here," I said. "But I want to bring Lloyd to Auldrant, I need to either figure out how to make his body non-reliant on mana, or find a way to put mana into Auldrant's atmosphere. Since I've twisted Energies into mana before, I got the feeling the latter would be easiest. Gives me something to do with Rem's present."

"Which you are literally thinking of as a present now, and not a curse," Guy said, amused. I nodded.

"Yup. And now that I've stopped cursing it and figured out what I'll be doing with it, a lot of people are starting to look at that thing a little more positively. The only tricky thing will be to keep it from becoming more than a symbol of anything," I said cheerfully. Then I sighed and looked up. "We should get going."

"We should," Sync agreed, nodding smartly.

I shot him an unamused look. "You got lost."

"Hooray for getting to wear the uniform, but not being on duty. If I get lost, I don't get in trouble for it," Sync replied cheekily.

I rolled my eyes. "Pest. Come on, let's go."

"Who made that tabard, by the way? I kept meaning to ask," Tear asked.

"York," I replied easily. "He outdid himself on this, I'd have to say. Actually, he did the tabards for all five of the current God-Generals. Which is kinda funny, because you know how mine's got the fire up the sides in the back and such? Rialle's has these pretty vines and flowers, which is really fitting, because _all_ of her artes, with the exceptions of Earthquake, Windwake, and Hurricane, are named after flowers. Reighn's didn't change much, just a little to account for the new division markers," I said.

"Markers?" Sync asked.

I pointed to an almost floral design in the corners of the front of my tabard. "See the purple and gold? Purple is first division, gold marks me as part of the first platoon. Reighn and Luke are backwards from me, Badaq, and Rialle. Our three divisions have gold for first platoon and silver for everything else, theirs is silver for first platoon and gold for everything else."

"What are the other three colors? I assume Reighn kept the blue," Sync asked.

I nodded. "Rialle took over the green, Luke's is yellow, hence the silver for the markers for first platoon, and Badaq's is red," I replied. "Luke is apparently planning to stay military for a while."

The main administrative building in Yulia City loomed ahead of us as we left the festivities, and I sighed and braced myself a bit. "You'll get to see Rialle, Reighn, and Luke. Badaq stayed back in Daath," I added. "Oh! Almost forgot. Take a glance at Florian's robes at some point."

I got a few odd looks for that comment, and smiled. "Just a suggestion."

We stepped into the building, and I looked up at the conference room, finding my way up a ramp as quickly as I could. We weren't really running late or anything, but I wanted to find my seat before the masses really managed to take over.

Asch managed to snag my hand as I walked past him, and I shot him a smile even as I stopped, Sync, Tear, and Guy moving on past me. "Morning."

He smirked back—because Asch oh-so-rarely did smiles, and I didn't expect anything less from him at this point—and managed to pull me into a hug. "Good morning. Stay out of trouble?"

I snorted. "It's a meeting. We're basically just going over all the changes and signing off on everything."

He chuckled. "Just making sure."

We stepped inside, reluctantly letting go of each other as we headed to our seats, and I glanced around, knowing full well that we were at opposite ends of the table. Teodoro was already settled in at the head of the table, a stack of papers sitting in front of him. To his left was Emperor Peony, who looked bored out of his mind already, and then General Nordheim, and Jade. Sync had settled in behind Jade with General Frings, looking just a bit sheepish.

On the other side, Asch sat next to General Goldberg, with Dark settled on the general's other side. Matching the Malkuth set one for one, with Natalia hovering over Dark's shoulder for once, instead of the other way around.

Next to Jade, there was an empty seat, and then Fallon was sat on the other side of the empty seat. I smiled a bit and shook my head. Solace was still outside talking to Rialle.

My seat was next to Fallon's, and I smiled at Path, who was currently leaning against Solace's empty seat.

Florian would have the chair at the foot of the table, and then Tritheim would be on his other side. Reighn and Florian walked in just as I thought it, and Tritheim was already seated. Luke had wandered over to talk to Asch, being polite enough not to be speaking telepathically in the conference room.

We'd all agreed—emergencies only within the conference room.

Tear and Guy were already settled in between Dark and Tritheim, too, so I sighed a bit and sat down as Florian did. Now we were just missing Solace... Who walked in with Rialle, realized he was the last one to sit, and promptly displayed his mastery of my not-teleporting trick to appear in his seat a second later.

I fought back the snort. Nobody looked _that_ inclined to start just yet...

In fact, it was a good ten minutes before the edges of the room were cloaked in darkness, and I smiled. Shadow was either having fun with this, or Teodoro had asked nicely. Or both.

Either way, it got everyone's attention, even as Teodoro stood and cleared his throat to draw attention to him.

"I'd like to welcome everyone to today's meeting." He offered up a small smile. "Hopefully the last for a while."

A few chuckles went around, even as Teodoro became serious again. Unfortunately, as this was primarily just the 'this is what's been done, now sign the damn documents' part, he'd be doing a lot of orating.

"Months ago, the world banded together against the largest threat Auldrant has seen in millennia, and now, our efforts to rebuilt and continue on in the face of that adversity are being realized," he continued. "What the war has destroyed, we have begun rebuilding. What was lost, I hope we have found again. And should we be so blessed, it will not be lost twice."

I grimaced a bit, thinking of a certain pendant, and a dark-haired man who, while as unyielding as his element, was a nice enough sort once you got to know him.

"In light of recent events, I believe Emperor Peony has something to say," Teodoro said before sitting down.

Peony stood and offered up a smile to the people gathered around the table. "I'd like to thank everyone for the assistance in rebuilding Malkuth's cities. While I have no doubt we'd have managed on our own eventually, the fact that St. Binah and Grand Chokmah already stand again is something I must attribute to all of the help we've been given," he said. He offered a bow to the room at large, and I bowed my head in return, as did most of the people at the table.

Teodoro stood again, looked over his reports, and sighed a bit. "I don't think we want to be here all afternoon," he muttered, just loud enough for me to hear on the opposite side of the room.

"So how much corner-cutting can we get away with doing?" Jade dared to ask.

And some more chuckling from the group at large.

"Sadly, not _that_ much," Teodoro replied with a sad smile, lifting a paper and clearing his throat a bit. I tuned out the rebuilding reports for Malkuth and Kimlasca. Not my countries, not my problem. A bit mean, I knew, since one was my fiancé's country and the other was my brother's, but I was _not_ interested in listening to the same information that I'd heard again and again at previous meetings.

Then Teodoro started in on Daath.

"The Yulia City repairs have been completed," he began. "As have the few structural repairs needed in Daath..." He paused, blinked at me, and then went back to the report. "A solution has also been found for the sunburst crystal above the cathedral. The majority of the repairs in Chesedonia have been completed, and the rest are currently underway."

I tuned out the specifics as Teodoro went into some more detail. I knew all of this already, I had to read the damn reports as soon as they crossed my desk.

I did actually pay slight attention to the Hod reports, and smiled when it became obvious that there were no complications there, either.

And... I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow when Norn started.

"Luxen Tenebris, formerly the Tower of Rem, has finally been cleared of experiments, and the basement levels are open for the Order of Lorelei to finish implementing the passage ring," Teodoro said, glancing at me. Right. My pet project I was still working on.

The rest of the report was as to be expected. Kaitzur had transferred hands easily enough, Fandral was still more than happy to exist in its own little bubble...

Teodoro finished the rebuilding reports and started detailing the land ownership transfers that had been agreed upon, the land that would create the new countries, and I did my best not to simply sigh in boredom. This was taking forever...

I crossed my arms and patiently waited as that finished, and the Passage Ring/FonNet stuff got started.

I'd written the report for this section, so again, as it was all information I knew already, I paid it very little mind.

Too bad there was a 'no telepathy' rule. And I didn't have my datapad, either...

Finally, _finally_ , we managed to get through everything.

I sighed again as Teodoro finally finished his talking, took a sip of water, and then sighed and glanced at a clock.

"Two," Dark grunted.

I giggled a bit, and noticed a few other people looking torn between irritation and amusement. Looked like I wasn't the only one who found Dark's muttered complaint of the time amusing.

Teodoro sighed again. "I will begin passing these around. Once everyone has signed a copy, they will be passed out to the five countries," he said, sitting again and pulling out a pen. His signature was needed on these as well, as the mediator.

The first one was passed to Asch, the second to Peony. This pattern continued for a bit.

The second one, the one from Peony's side, reached me first. I glanced over it. Five groups of lines, three signatures needed for each country. That was why Path had leaned over Fallon's shoulder to sign.

Peony, Nordheim, Jade, Solace, Fallon, Path...

My signature joined it, and Florian and I traded documents.

Asch, Goldberg, Dark, Tear, Guy, a name I didn't recognize (Carlotta) but which must have belonged to the woman hovering between Tear and Guy, Tritheim, Florian...

I signed all five copies of the treaty.

By the time we were all done, it was going on two thirty, and Teodoro smiled when he realized that all of the documents were where they belonged. "With that, I conclude this, the signing of the Eldrant Accords."

I grinned, stood, and was gone _almost_ faster than Dark.

Almost.

Sadly, Dark _teleported_ out, and therefore beat me.

I managed to wander back into the festival area, even as Asch caught up to me, hand once again claiming mine. I smiled, feeling him almost playing around with the promise ring on my finger.

"So," I started.

Asch glanced up and smiled. "We've got the night off," he said. "I'm not expected back in Baticul until Loreleiday, and... Apparently, Alpine has conveniently forgotten that I can teleport."

I laughed a bit. "Well, then I suppose we should take advantage of it," I said. "Meet me in Tataroo Valley in, say... two hours? I'm going to see if I can commandeer someone's kitchen and cook us up some dinner to eat while we're there."

Asch nodded. "Two hours." He paused and shot me a smirk. "Don't be late."

"Ha! Wouldn't dream of it."

Asch vanished in a hyperresonance.

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _I blame Captain America: Civil War on why this particular treaty got called the Eldrant Accords._

 _I'm not sure if that's where the blame belongs, but I lay the blame there anyway for lack of a better idea._

 _And, yes, Sync is now Malkuth military._


	109. Chapter 14-7 Part 109

_-walks in whistling 'O Christmas Tree'-_

 _-is shot-_

 _-resurrects-_

 _Okay, on a more serious note... This is the final Part of the Main Arcs of An Echo through Time._

 _Four years. (Two, on Auldrant.)_

 _We've all come a long way, haven't we? From a snowdrift in Keterburg, to a coach bound for Engeve, to a festival crashed by (who I hope is now) our favorite fire elemental sentience, to the place where, for Tear and Luke, at least, it all began._

 _Welcome back to Tataroo Valley._

* * *

:Ah. That. Now _that_ is the fault of your violet-eyed friend with the metal bear.: _–Kade_

" _You know... I had this whole little spiel planned... I don't regret it." –Asch_

* * *

 **Chapter 14.7 – Ceremony  
Part 109**

It didn't take me long to get food cooked up. I usually kept it fairly simple, after all, and even some of my more complicated dishes—if they could be called that—didn't take _that_ long.

So I had dinner all ready and packed within an hour.

I had just stepped out of the house when Tear walked up, smiling when she spotted the basket in my right hand.

"Going somewhere for a picnic?" she asked. I nodded.

"Tataroo Valley," I replied easily.

Tear smiled. "You and Asch? Have fun."

I smiled back. "Thanks."

And then I was gone, miasma enveloping me in a thankfully tiny cloud and then depositing me outside the valley.

Outside, because Erebor wandered around the inside, and I really didn't want him to have to worry about the miasma too much. It really, really irritated him, and Dark said that miasma was the trigger for uniceri to go feral, so I always did my best to pull it as close as I could.

I meandered up through the valley, ignoring the monsters and being ignored. Kade's presence within me alerted Erebor to my presence, but it also kept the monsters away. Kinda like my own, constant holy bottle.

Ironically, Lorelei was a walking dark bottle.

Make _that_ make sense.

I shoved the thought out of my head as I reached the usual meadow. The selenias were all closed up, but it wasn't even five yet, and I had no doubt Asch and I would still be here by the time they opened.

So I found a spot, laid out the blanket I'd pulled out of my wing pack, and set up a nice little picnic.

I hadn't had time to really change out of my uniform, so I had given in and was still wearing it.

I was a bit bemused when Asch showed up still wearing his robes. "Figured you were going to go change while you were at it," I said as he walked over.

"I could say the same of you," he replied. "But no... This is actually fairly comfortable, and..." He stopped, sighed, and sat down on the blanket, legs crossed and elbows braced on his knees. "I've had enough fighting for a while. If it comes down to it, you know I'll draw a sword long before I stand back and let someone kill me. But... I don't want to be _inviting_ a fight... if that makes sense."

I smiled a bit sadly. "You've been fighting to survive since you were a child. That's... not something I can say," I replied. "I can't blame you. Just... don't get out of practice."

Asch smiled back, the shadows dancing in his eyes telling me enough. "That would be suicide," he muttered.

I hummed a bit, and then pulled my basket over. "Well. We have food. Best not leave it out for the bugs, eh?"

Asch chuckled. "You're a dork, you know that?"

I blinked a few times, then put my hand to my chest. "Me? I don't know what you're talking about."

Asch rolled his eyes. "Dork."

I giggled, and pulled out the pasta I'd made, handing Asch the bowl I'd made up for him.

We ate in silence, and my rumbling stomach finally shut up as I put the food into it. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so even though it was an early meal, it was food, and it went into my stomach and stopped the rumbling.

I looked up at the slowly-lowering sun for a moment before my eyes drifted across the valley. It was so peaceful here...

I stood up, leaving my empty bowl behind me, and summoned my blades—yes, _blades._

Kade had asked to borrow Silver Clematis for a few days. When it had been returned, I found myself with not one, but two of it. Twin blades, both just as deadly as I needed them to be if the fight was dangerous enough for me to summon the second blade.

Sending Kade a warning of my intentions, apologizing, and promising to clean them properly later, I stuck both of them in the ground in an 'X' shape. Asch blinked at it as I walked back over, now weaponless, as I'd stopped bothering to carry the regular katana around.

There would be no more need to fight against Kade, no need to fight _without_ Silver Clematis. So I was fine to have done so.

And right now... The monsters were staying clear.

There were definite perks to carrying a sentience that effectively emulated a holy bottle.

I packed the bowls back up once Asch was finished, and slipped the basket and blanket back into my wing pack after a bit.

"It's been almost two years since you first landed on Auldrant."

I smiled a bit. "Luna-Redecan nine, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Two years exactly," I said. And then I frowned.

Two years on Auldrant.

Four on Earth.

I looked down at my hands. That was odd. I... Hadn't aged. At least, not as much as I should have. And my menstrual cycles...

I blinked a few times and prodded Kade. _'Is this_ your _doing?'_ I asked.

 _:Perhaps a bit. With some help from that crystal by your heart. Not a lot, but a little.:_

' _That explains the mana it's exuding,'_ I mused.

So I wasn't imagining things.

"Kairi?"

"I'm still twenty," I said, looking up at Asch. "I was seventeen when I landed on Auldrant, Asch. Turned eighteen roughly three months later, nineteen six months after that, hit twenty right when this whole mess with the sentiences started most of a year ago. That was a _year_ ago, Asch. An _Auldrant_ year. And Doppel's twenty-one."

Asch stared. "You're..."

"Kade's slowed my aging," I replied. "And here I was seriously starting to worry about it." Then I stopped and frowned. Wait a moment. "Odd thing is... the last few months on Earth... have lined up with the last few months on Auldrant. Not _exactly_ , but they've lined up." I tilted my head to the side.

 _:Ah. That. Now_ that _is the fault of your violet-eyed friend with the metal bear,:_ Kade informed me.

I crossed my arms and frowned. "But there's no way Nanalie would have been able to pull Auldrant out of its natural alignment in the TimeStream without help," I mused out loud. "So she would have had to bring the other Time Chasers in on it... and I can't see Demetri being willing to do something like that just for the sake of it," I said. "I mean, come on. It's Demetri. The guy might have his heart in the right place, but he's _still_ got a stick up his ass."

Asch gave me a look like I'd lost it, and I shrugged, sighed, and shook my head. "Auldrant still feels like it's moving at the same pace it always has, right? But compared to the rest of the universe, where twenty-four hours is still twenty-four hours, twenty-four hours on Earth or Aselia adds up to about fifty hours on Auldrant now." I stopped and frowned. "Okay. Closer to forty-eight and a quarter, but still." I shrugged. "It's been pulled out of alignment. One year on Auldrant is going to add up to one year on Earth or Aselia."

 _:One year on Aselia lined up with a year on Auldrant already,:_ Kade corrected me. _:Technically, Earth's simply been pulled into our strange alignment.:_

I filed that away as Asch spoke again.

"So..." Asch started, tilting his head to the side. "Why?"

"I don't know. I'd have to ask Nanalie. The Time Chasers are the only ones that can do that," I said. Something I'd definitely want to look into. "Mind you, if Kade hadn't slowed my aging, even with our worlds in a strange alignment, this body would still be aging at Earth speed, ergo, twice as fast as you."

Asch hummed. "So you're going to constantly be a year younger than Doppel?"

I blinked a few times, then looked up at the reddening sky. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"It's June for Doppel," I said. "Between the aging slow-down and the fact that Nanalie's only recently pulled Auldrant out of alignment, Doppel's at the halfway point between twenty-one and twenty-two. Physically, I'm just short of twenty-one, but mentally... I've got _all_ of our memories from the last two Auldrant years. Hers and mine. And she's got them too, but then, anything that isn't _hers_ gets kinda shoved off to the side and into a different folder, so to speak." I stopped and sighed. "I think I'm just going to say twenty-two when Doppel's birthday rolls around again, and then that's going to be it. With the years now lining up, that'll put our birthdays the same time every year, so whatever day it happens to be when Doppel's birthday hits, that'll be the date I replace on all of my paperwork."

Asch hummed. "Seems reasonable." He leaned back again. "Why not just pick a day in early Lorelei-Redecan? That was around when your twentieth was."

I gave him a wry look. "Because then my birthday won't line up with Doppel's. Best to keep myself somewhat sane, and not have to keep two birthdays straight in my head. If they happen at the same time, it's easier to just categorize it."

Asch tilted his head to the side. "Well... I still don't get it, but as long as you've got it figured out." He paused and frowned. "You realize that makes you three years older than me."

I blinked a few times, then realized he was right.

His seventeenth birthday had been celebrated in Keterburg. His eighteenth, we'd been running from Grand Chokmah to get away from the sentiences.

His nineteenth was still coming up.

"Just shy of nineteen years old, and the king of Kimlasca," I mused. "And the twenty-one year-old in charge of the military side of the Order of Lorelei."

"Van made Commandant at twenty-two," Asch said. "Guess you broke his record."

I winced. "Promise you'll kill me if I try to do something that will destroy the world?"

Asch chuckled. "Unless you're so far gone that I can't, I think I'll trying knocking sense into you first. But yes, if you go over that cliff, I'll kill you."

I nodded. "Good. The world doesn't need my brand of insanity trying to destroy it. Not with Kade and the miasma at my fingertips."

Not that Kade would be all that willing to put up with it. I'd probably lose my immunity to miasma if I did go over the edge like that.

I stood up and wandered over toward the cliff, watching as the sun continued to sink in the sky. I was alone for a bit before I heard an almost metallic _schlick!_

Then Asch stepped up next to me, and I glanced at him, then back to where I'd left the Silver Clematis blades.

Ultimatus stood next to them, an 'I' through the middle of the 'X', and I smiled a bit and looked back at Asch.

He smiled a bit, and found my hand with his own.

My left. His right.

"This time next year, let's be smiling together," Asch murmured.

I nodded. "And every year after?"

He offered up a wider smile... Then sidestepped a bit, the sudden absence of his hand in mine making me worry for a few moments.

When he dropped to one knee, I knew exactly what he was up to, even though our marriage was technically arranged, even though he had become my fiancé the minute the agreements had been signed off on by both Jade and Crimson.

And I had the feeling the somewhat breathless, _almost_ -blurted "Will you marry me?" was not exactly what Asch had planned to say.

But I couldn't help but grin, my body moving on its own to leave me wrapped around Asch.

"Yes. Yes," I replied, no other words really coming to me even as Asch pulled me into a hug, and then a kiss.

He slipped something onto the finger of my other hand... my _left_ hand... and I glanced down.

I smiled a bit at the engagement ring. "You are determined to make sure everyone knows I'm yours, aren't you?" I asked, still grinning like an idiot and not feeling at all inclined to come down off the cloud I found myself on.

"You _are_ mine," Asch replied. I snorted, then laughed and kissed him again.

"Wrong," I teased. "You're _mine_."

I squeaked a bit as Asch shifted and pulled me into his lap.

Not really a comfortable position for either of us. I was still in my tabard, and to be honest, in a good pair of heels, I managed to damn near tower over him.

So I managed to wriggle out of his lap, then turn and hold out a hand to pull him back to his feet.

His right hand found mine again, and I let our fingers weave together, relishing in the feel of the ring on my left hand, even as I looked out at the fire lit up in the western sky.

Fire...

I smiled to myself, even as Asch sighed, and then chuckled a bit. "You know... I had this whole little spiel planned..."

I laughed. "Spontaneity is fun, isn't it?" I asked. Then shifted a little closer, not quite leaning against him, but coming close. Asch glanced over and smiled.

"I don't regret it."

Neither did I.

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice," I muttered.

"From what I've tasted of desire, I side with those who favor fire," Asch said, left hand coming up to gently tug a wild lock of orange hair back into place.

"But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate... to say that for destruction, ice... is also great," I continued, pausing to press another chaste kiss to Asch's lips, "and would suffice."

 _More_ than suffice.

Doppel had her life on Earth. A life she wasn't pleased with—neither of us were, really—but a life she would survive.

My life was _here_. Asch, Jade... My love, my family, my friends. Auldrant was my home now. I had a job, a role to play in leading Auldrant into the new age that we could all feel starting.

Maybe, someday, I'd figure out how to get Lloyd and Danté _here_. But until then...

The sunset was beautiful. Reds and oranges and pinks, lighting up the horizon in a fire I could only hope would be enough to see the dead, the dying, the diseased undergrowth _gone_ from this beautiful world I now called home.

I glanced over at Asch, unsurprised to find that his eyes were as magnetized to me as mine were often to him.

This... was hope.

I smiled, then shifted, leaning against him.

"I love you."

Three little words...

"...I love you."

* * *

 _ **Fun Fact:**_ _The End... Not._

 _..._

 _What?_

 _I've been blabbering about the Future Arcs for ages. Ya'll should know better by now._

 _Also, in case you didn't notice... this chapter was from Kairi's POV._

 _Re:ARitA and Re:AST both ended with a chapter in Dark's POV, and so will AEtT... when the real ending comes._

 _In a couple of years._

 _For now, though... I leave you with the mental image of Asch and Kairi being saps, and the drawn image of them standing on the cliff at Tataroo Valley._

 _Hoping to see at least some of you over on the Lights Trilogy come December! (Reviews on the new story would be an excellent birthday present. *hint, hint* *nudge, nudge* *poke, poke* (And no one is allowed to complain about that comment, because ya'll know I don't do it often anymore.))_

 _Twilight PhoenixFyre out~_


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